I have a transport vehicle, which is my primary source of income, and I transport goods over a distance of two hundred and eighty kilometers. Is it permissible to shorten the prayer in it, and what is the duration in days?
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The questioner : I have a transport vehicle, which is my primary source of income, and I transport goods over a distance of two hundred and eighty kilometers. Is it permissible to shorten the prayer in it? And what is the duration in days?
The Shaykh : It is permissible to shorten the prayer over a distance of two hundred and eighty kilometers if he remains in the other town he traveled to for two or three days or something similar. He may continue to shorten the prayer until he returns to his own town, even if the duration is long. However, one must be careful about something that many people neglect out of ignorance or negligence, which is praying in congregation. It is obligatory for a traveler, if he is in a town where the congregation is held, to attend the congregation, because travel is not among the things that remove the obligation of congregational prayer. Indeed, Allah made the congregation obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and his Companions during travel in a state of fear. He, the Exalted, said:[An-Nisa 4:102] Thus, Allah made congregational prayer obligatory even in this state; how much more so in a state of safety? And whoever imagines that a traveler is not required to perform Jumu'ah or the congregation while he is in the same town has no basis for this imagination.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : It is permissible to shorten the prayer over a distance of two hundred and eighty kilometers if he remains in the other town he traveled to for two or three days or something similar. He may continue to shorten the prayer until he returns to his own town, even if the duration is long. However, one must be careful about something that many people neglect out of ignorance or negligence, which is praying in congregation. It is obligatory for a traveler, if he is in a town where the congregation is held, to attend the congregation, because travel is not among the things that remove the obligation of congregational prayer. Indeed, Allah made the congregation obligatory upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and his Companions during travel in a state of fear. He, the Exalted, said:
And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, let a group of them stand [in prayer] with you and let them carry their arms. And when they have prostrated, let them be [in position] behind you and have the other group come forward which has not [yet] prayed and let them pray with you, taking precaution and carrying their arms.
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْThe questioner : May Allah reward you with good.