Is it permissible to shorten the prayer while traveling?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : From Riyadh, the questioner whose name is indicated by the letter A from Jeddah says: O honorable Shaykh, is it permissible to shorten the prayer, meaning the two rak'ahs of Dhuhr and the two rak'ahs of Asr? May Allah reward you for that. He means while traveling, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : If a person is traveling.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then it is strongly required of him to shorten the four-rak'ah prayer, so he prays Dhuhr as two rak'ahs, Asr as two rak'ahs, and Isha as two rak'ahs. As for Maghrib, it is not shortened because it is the odd-numbered prayer of the day, and as for Fajr, it is because it is originally two rak'ahs.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if he is in a town and hears the adhan, he must attend the mosque, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) He said, Yes. He said And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him) Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:352 Traveling is not an excuse. For this reason, Allah the Exalted commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to lead the people in congregational prayer during times of war, and He said: [An-Nisa 4:102] Thus, Allah the Exalted made congregational prayer obligatory during times of war, so during times of safety and ease, it is all the more so.
Some people have thought that a traveler is not required to pray, meaning that congregational prayer is not obligatory upon him. You will find that if you pass by him and say, "Go to the mosque and pray," he says, "I am a traveler." This is not an excuse. Yes, if he has combined prayers and arrived in the city and the adhan is called, then in this case we say that the prayer has been dropped from him, so he is not required to repeat it again.
The Shaykh : If a person is traveling.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then it is strongly required of him to shorten the four-rak'ah prayer, so he prays Dhuhr as two rak'ahs, Asr as two rak'ahs, and Isha as two rak'ahs. As for Maghrib, it is not shortened because it is the odd-numbered prayer of the day, and as for Fajr, it is because it is originally two rak'ahs.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if he is in a town and hears the adhan, he must attend the mosque, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Do you hear the call?
هل تسمع النداء؟Then respond.
فأجبWhoever hears the call and does not respond, he has no prayer, except one who has an excuse.
من سمع النداء فلم يجب فلا صلاة له إلا من عذرAnd 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.
وَإِذا كُنتَ فيهِم فَأَقَمتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاةَ فَلتَقُم طائِفَةٌ مِنهُم مَعَكَ وَليَأخُذوا أَسلِحَتَهُم فَإِذا سَجَدوا فَليَكونوا مِن وَرائِكُم وَلتَأتِ طائِفَةٌ أُخرى لَم يُصَلّوا فَليُصَلّوا مَعَكَ وَليَأخُذوا حِذرَهُم وَأَسلِحَتَهُمSome people have thought that a traveler is not required to pray, meaning that congregational prayer is not obligatory upon him. You will find that if you pass by him and say, "Go to the mosque and pray," he says, "I am a traveler." This is not an excuse. Yes, if he has combined prayers and arrived in the city and the adhan is called, then in this case we say that the prayer has been dropped from him, so he is not required to repeat it again.