Is it permissible for students of knowledge coming from abroad to shorten the prayer, considering that they are travelers, if they pray individually?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
O Shaykh, we have heard a fatwa from your eminence that has circulated among the students of knowledge, which is the issue of shortening the prayer while traveling. Many students of knowledge say that the Shaykh states: if students of knowledge come from countries outside the Kingdom, meaning if they sit and pray individually, they shorten the prayer. Is this correct? We ask for evidence for this detail in the issue. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This issue, may Allah bless you, is whether the residence of a traveler in a country breaks the ruling of travel or not. The scholars differ on this issue with more than twenty opinions, as mentioned by al-Nawawi in *al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhab*. This is because there is no decisive text in the issue that distinguishes between the differing views.
Therefore, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) and a group of scholars held that the issue returns to settling down or traveling, and that a person's state revolves only between settling down and traveling. Permanent residence that is not limited by work or time is included with settling down. This is the opinion that the soul finds peace in, and it is what the apparent indications of the Shari'ah evidence point to.
Because there is not a single letter in the Qur'an or the Sunnah that indicates a specific duration that breaks the ruling of travel if a person intends it. If anyone has evidence for that, let them help us with it.
The greatest evidence for those who set a limit is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for different durations. Some took the minimum, and some took the maximum. For example, Ibn 'Abbas said: Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stayed in Makkah for nineteen days shortening the prayer. So if we stay these nineteen days, we shorten, and if we exceed that, we complete.
And Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) and al-Shafi'i, and I think Imam Malik, said: "If he intends to stay more than four days, he completes the prayer, and if he intends four days or less, he shortens it."
But al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad differed. Al-Shafi'i says that the day of arrival and the day of departure are not counted, so the days are four clear days. Based on this school, how many days is that? Six days: the day of arrival, the day of departure, and four clear days in between. Imam Ahmad counts the day of arrival and the day of departure.
So what is the evidence for this? The evidence is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was the last journey he made, arrived in Makkah on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and stayed there on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday morning, he went out to Mina. It is authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he shortened the prayer during this period. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Because he arrived on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and left on the morning of the fourteenth of Dhul-Hijjah, so the days are ten: four before going out to the sacred sites, and the rest in the sacred sites. But I ask you now: is this evidence for setting a limit, or evidence for not setting a limit?
In reality, it is evidence for not setting a limit, not for setting a limit. Why? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Whoever stays more than four days, let him complete the prayer." Rather, the four days were coincidental. He knew (peace and blessings be upon him) that people come to Makkah for Hajj before the fourth day. Not all pilgrims arrive only on the fourth day or after; pilgrims arrive on the fourth, the third, the second, the first, at the end of Dhul-Qa'dah, or even from Shawwal.[Al-Baqarah 2:197] The beginning of Shawwal. If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), knowing that people arrive before the fourth day, did not say to people: "Whoever arrives before the fourth day, let him complete the prayer," then it is known that completing the prayer is not obligatory. Therefore, when he prayed in Makkah in the Year of Conquest, when he prayed in Makkah in the Year of Conquest, he said to its people: .
And he would pray two rak'ahs and say the taslim, then the people of Makkah would stand and complete the prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveys the clear message. So if we know that he stayed in Makkah for four days before going out to Mina, and six days after that, and stayed in Tabuk for fifteen days, twenty days, shortening the prayer, and stayed in Makkah in the Year of Conquest for nineteen days shortening the prayer, these are different durations and the ruling did not change in them.
At that point, we say: the criterion is breaking the travel if a person intends to break the travel, and absolute residence in this country makes him one of its people, and what is obligatory for a resident becomes obligatory for him. But if he says: "I am not from the people of this town, but I stayed for work," then we say: in that case, you are a traveler. But even so, we do not exempt this man who stayed in the town; we do not exempt him from congregational prayer. Rather, we oblige him to perform congregational prayer and Friday prayer, unless he misses it, in which case he prays two rak'ahs.
Similarly, we do not see that he should break his fast in Ramadan and make it up only after the second Ramadan. Not because he is not a traveler, but because if he leaves fasting in Ramadan this year, then in the next year, then in the third year, the days will accumulate for him, and he may become unable or lazy.
Then, the emphasis on breaking the fast while traveling is not like the emphasis on shortening the prayer. Shortening the prayer is obligatory for some scholars while traveling. And yes, it is not recorded that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer for a single day while he was a traveler. As for breaking the fast, the Companions with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast and break their fast, fast and break their fast. The one who fasts does not blame the one who breaks his fast, and the one who breaks his fast does not blame the one who fasts. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted.
And when it was said to him: "The people have found it difficult," he broke his fast. So for this reason, we say: fasting for this traveler who stayed for a long period is not delayed until the second Ramadan, but he fasts it so that the months do not accumulate for him and he becomes weak or negligent. Yes.
O Shaykh, we have heard a fatwa from your eminence that has circulated among the students of knowledge, which is the issue of shortening the prayer while traveling. Many students of knowledge say that the Shaykh states: if students of knowledge come from countries outside the Kingdom, meaning if they sit and pray individually, they shorten the prayer. Is this correct? We ask for evidence for this detail in the issue. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This issue, may Allah bless you, is whether the residence of a traveler in a country breaks the ruling of travel or not. The scholars differ on this issue with more than twenty opinions, as mentioned by al-Nawawi in *al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhab*. This is because there is no decisive text in the issue that distinguishes between the differing views.
Therefore, the Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) and a group of scholars held that the issue returns to settling down or traveling, and that a person's state revolves only between settling down and traveling. Permanent residence that is not limited by work or time is included with settling down. This is the opinion that the soul finds peace in, and it is what the apparent indications of the Shari'ah evidence point to.
Because there is not a single letter in the Qur'an or the Sunnah that indicates a specific duration that breaks the ruling of travel if a person intends it. If anyone has evidence for that, let them help us with it.
The greatest evidence for those who set a limit is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for different durations. Some took the minimum, and some took the maximum. For example, Ibn 'Abbas said:
If the traveler intends to stay for nineteen days or more, he completes the prayer.
إذا نوى المسافر تسعة عشر يوما أو أكثر فإنه يتمAnd Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) and al-Shafi'i, and I think Imam Malik, said: "If he intends to stay more than four days, he completes the prayer, and if he intends four days or less, he shortens it."
But al-Shafi'i and Imam Ahmad differed. Al-Shafi'i says that the day of arrival and the day of departure are not counted, so the days are four clear days. Based on this school, how many days is that? Six days: the day of arrival, the day of departure, and four clear days in between. Imam Ahmad counts the day of arrival and the day of departure.
So what is the evidence for this? The evidence is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was the last journey he made, arrived in Makkah on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and stayed there on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday morning, he went out to Mina. It is authentic from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he shortened the prayer during this period. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) – meaning to Makkah in the Farewell Pilgrimage – did not cease to pray two rak'ahs until he returned to al-Madinah. He was asked: How long did they stay in Makkah? He said: We stayed there for ten days. We stayed there for ten days.
خرج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم - يعني إلى مكة في حجة الوداع - فلم يزل يصلي ركعتين حتى رجع إلى المدينة فسئل : كم أقاموا في مكة ؟ قال : أقمنا بها عشرا أقمنا بها عشراIn reality, it is evidence for not setting a limit, not for setting a limit. Why? Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Whoever stays more than four days, let him complete the prayer." Rather, the four days were coincidental. He knew (peace and blessings be upon him) that people come to Makkah for Hajj before the fourth day. Not all pilgrims arrive only on the fourth day or after; pilgrims arrive on the fourth, the third, the second, the first, at the end of Dhul-Qa'dah, or even from Shawwal.
Hajj is [during] well-known months
الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌO people of Makkah, complete the prayer, for we are a people of travel.
يا أهل مكة أتموا فإنا قوم سَفْرAnd he would pray two rak'ahs and say the taslim, then the people of Makkah would stand and complete the prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveys the clear message. So if we know that he stayed in Makkah for four days before going out to Mina, and six days after that, and stayed in Tabuk for fifteen days, twenty days, shortening the prayer, and stayed in Makkah in the Year of Conquest for nineteen days shortening the prayer, these are different durations and the ruling did not change in them.
At that point, we say: the criterion is breaking the travel if a person intends to break the travel, and absolute residence in this country makes him one of its people, and what is obligatory for a resident becomes obligatory for him. But if he says: "I am not from the people of this town, but I stayed for work," then we say: in that case, you are a traveler. But even so, we do not exempt this man who stayed in the town; we do not exempt him from congregational prayer. Rather, we oblige him to perform congregational prayer and Friday prayer, unless he misses it, in which case he prays two rak'ahs.
Similarly, we do not see that he should break his fast in Ramadan and make it up only after the second Ramadan. Not because he is not a traveler, but because if he leaves fasting in Ramadan this year, then in the next year, then in the third year, the days will accumulate for him, and he may become unable or lazy.
Then, the emphasis on breaking the fast while traveling is not like the emphasis on shortening the prayer. Shortening the prayer is obligatory for some scholars while traveling. And yes, it is not recorded that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer for a single day while he was a traveler. As for breaking the fast, the Companions with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast and break their fast, fast and break their fast. The one who fasts does not blame the one who breaks his fast, and the one who breaks his fast does not blame the one who fasts. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted.
And when it was said to him: "The people have found it difficult," he broke his fast. So for this reason, we say: fasting for this traveler who stayed for a long period is not delayed until the second Ramadan, but he fasts it so that the months do not accumulate for him and he becomes weak or negligent. Yes.