Combining the obligation of shortening the prayer with the obligation of congregational prayer while traveling
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May Allah reward you with good, O honorable Shaykh! Regarding the prayer of the traveler, we know that the traveler’s prayer has no specific distance or duration, and that the correct view is that anything called travel allows the person to shorten the prayer. Most of the scholars made shortening obligatory for him and did not make it a dispensation where he could either complete or shorten, but rather they made it obligatory upon him. So how do we combine the obligation of shortening for the traveler with the obligation to pray with the congregation? This is the first point.
Second: If this traveler is able to pray with a group of travelers who shorten the prayer, is it obligatory for him to pray with the mosque congregation, or does he pray with the company he is with?The Shaykh: As for your statement that most scholars made shortening obligatory for him, that is not correct. Rather, most scholars are of the view that shortening is not obligatory, and there is a well-known and famous disagreement on this issue.And what appears after reflection: That shortening is not obligatory.And the evidence for that is: It is almost a consensus among the Companions, for the Commander of the Faithful, Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), used to shorten the prayer in Mina during the days of Hajj, and at the end of his caliphate he began to complete it. So those among the Companions who objected to that objected.And among them: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud.Until when it reached him that Uthman had completed the prayer, he said: [Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we return], and he cited as evidence for his objection that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Umar used to shorten the prayer. Then he would pray behind Uthman and complete it, and likewise the Companions would pray behind him and complete it.And he was asked about that, so he said: [Disagreement is evil], and if the Companions had considered it obligatory—Meaning: shortening—they would not have completed the prayer behind Uthman;Because whoever considered it obligatory said: if it exceeded two rak’ahs, his prayer would be invalid, and it is not possible for them to pray behind Uthman an invalid prayer, because that is forbidden.So I used to say in the beginning: If shortening is obligatory,Based on the hadith of Aisha: (The prayer was first prescribed as two rak’ahs, so the prayer of the traveler was left as it was, and the prayer of the resident was increased); but the action of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) indicates that shortening is not obligatory; however, it is undoubtedly a confirmed sunnah.And if we say: Since it is a confirmed sunnah, we say: if the traveler follows a resident imam, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer;Due to the generality of his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: (Pray what you catch up with, and complete what you miss).
And for the statement of Ibn Abbas when he was asked about a traveler who prays two rak’ahs while the imam prays four, he said: [That is the sunnah].
And the question remains: is it obligatory for him to pray with the congregation or not?We say: It is obligatory for him to pray with the congregation due to the generality of the evidence indicating that whoever hears the call to prayer must attend and respond. But if he misses the prayer, or if he is in a distant place where it is difficult for him to go to the mosque where the congregation is held, then he prays the prayer of a traveler, and if they are a group, they establish the congregation. Yes.
Second: If this traveler is able to pray with a group of travelers who shorten the prayer, is it obligatory for him to pray with the mosque congregation, or does he pray with the company he is with?The Shaykh: As for your statement that most scholars made shortening obligatory for him, that is not correct. Rather, most scholars are of the view that shortening is not obligatory, and there is a well-known and famous disagreement on this issue.And what appears after reflection: That shortening is not obligatory.And the evidence for that is: It is almost a consensus among the Companions, for the Commander of the Faithful, Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), used to shorten the prayer in Mina during the days of Hajj, and at the end of his caliphate he began to complete it. So those among the Companions who objected to that objected.And among them: Abdullah ibn Mas’ud.Until when it reached him that Uthman had completed the prayer, he said: [Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we return], and he cited as evidence for his objection that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and Umar used to shorten the prayer. Then he would pray behind Uthman and complete it, and likewise the Companions would pray behind him and complete it.And he was asked about that, so he said: [Disagreement is evil], and if the Companions had considered it obligatory—Meaning: shortening—they would not have completed the prayer behind Uthman;Because whoever considered it obligatory said: if it exceeded two rak’ahs, his prayer would be invalid, and it is not possible for them to pray behind Uthman an invalid prayer, because that is forbidden.So I used to say in the beginning: If shortening is obligatory,Based on the hadith of Aisha: (The prayer was first prescribed as two rak’ahs, so the prayer of the traveler was left as it was, and the prayer of the resident was increased); but the action of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) indicates that shortening is not obligatory; however, it is undoubtedly a confirmed sunnah.And if we say: Since it is a confirmed sunnah, we say: if the traveler follows a resident imam, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer;Due to the generality of his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: (Pray what you catch up with, and complete what you miss).
And for the statement of Ibn Abbas when he was asked about a traveler who prays two rak’ahs while the imam prays four, he said: [That is the sunnah].
And the question remains: is it obligatory for him to pray with the congregation or not?We say: It is obligatory for him to pray with the congregation due to the generality of the evidence indicating that whoever hears the call to prayer must attend and respond. But if he misses the prayer, or if he is in a distant place where it is difficult for him to go to the mosque where the congregation is held, then he prays the prayer of a traveler, and if they are a group, they establish the congregation. Yes.