A traveler leads a congregation of residents: what should he do while inside the city? Does he shorten the prayer or complete it?
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The questioner : A traveler leads a congregation of residents, what should he do?
The Shaykh : Or what?
The questioner : A congregation
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Who are residents
The Shaykh : You can’t say residents, or maybe you spoke in the Arabian dialect, or leave it aside
The questioner : Or a congregation of residents
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : What should he do while he is inside the city? Does he shorten the prayer or complete it?
The Shaykh : The Sunnah is to shorten the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with the people of Makkah in the Year of the Conquest, and he used to pray two rak'ahs with them and say: meaning: we are travelers, so he would pray two rak'ahs and tell them before starting the prayer: I will pray two rak'ahs, and when I conclude the prayer, you should complete it.
And a person should do this, because this Sunnah is currently dormant, meaning: if a person does it, if he is someone not pointed to as a scholar, people will shout in his face and accuse him of error, but if he is someone pointed to as a scholar and they know he did it out of knowledge, they will benefit from this and know the Sunnah, just as people in the past used to reject the prostration for forgetfulness after the taslim and considered it invalidating the prayer, so when people came to know that and the imams began doing it, it became a customary matter among people and was no longer rejected. So the dormant Sunnahs should be revived by students of knowledge whose words and actions are taken seriously, for:Sahih Muslim 1017a. Yes
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : What did I say?
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Or what?
The questioner : A congregation
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : Who are residents
The Shaykh : You can’t say residents, or maybe you spoke in the Arabian dialect, or leave it aside
The questioner : Or a congregation of residents
The Shaykh : Yes
The questioner : What should he do while he is inside the city? Does he shorten the prayer or complete it?
The Shaykh : The Sunnah is to shorten the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed with the people of Makkah in the Year of the Conquest, and he used to pray two rak'ahs with them and say:
Complete it, for we are a people of travel
أتموا فإنا قوم سَفْرAnd a person should do this, because this Sunnah is currently dormant, meaning: if a person does it, if he is someone not pointed to as a scholar, people will shout in his face and accuse him of error, but if he is someone pointed to as a scholar and they know he did it out of knowledge, they will benefit from this and know the Sunnah, just as people in the past used to reject the prostration for forgetfulness after the taslim and considered it invalidating the prayer, so when people came to know that and the imams began doing it, it became a customary matter among people and was no longer rejected. So the dormant Sunnahs should be revived by students of knowledge whose words and actions are taken seriously, for:
He who sets a good precedent in Islam, there is a reward for him for this (act of goodness) and reward of that also who acted according to it subsequently
من سن في الإسلام سنة حسنة فله أجرها وأجر من عمل بها إلى يوم القيامةThe questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : What did I say?
The questioner : Your Eminence, the Shaykh
The Shaykh : Yes.