What is the ruling on a man who intends to travel before the time of the 'Asr prayer enters, and fears that he will not arrive until after the time of the Maghrib prayer has entered?
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The Shaykh : And he wants to go to the intended destination.
The student : Yes, and he may arrive before Maghrib, or he may not arrive; that is, his arrival before Maghrib is not certain. If he arrives before Maghrib, the problem is resolved.
The Shaykh : That is it; therefore, we are being precise about the matter.
The student : It is not certain that the traveler will arrive at the country he is traveling to before Maghrib; otherwise, the problem would be resolved.
The Shaykh : All right, what I see is that your answer is correct, but there must be a condition, which is that it must be more likely in his opinion that he will not reach the intended place before sunset.
The student : Yes, that is the limit.
The Shaykh : Yes, and there is another point, because it is not hidden from you the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that you mentioned, which said: So now, where is the hardship? There is no hardship here. There is a fear that the time of 'Asr will be missed and the time of Maghrib will enter. Yes, here it is said that there must be the condition I mentioned earlier, which is that it must be more likely in his opinion.
The student : That he will not catch up.
The Shaykh : Ah, that it is more likely, and then during the journey, did you hint or state explicitly that it is not possible to stop?
The student : He cannot stop because...
The Shaykh : It is not possible.
The student : He will not stop until he arrives.
The Shaykh : I mean, also, let me say, "he will not stop" is a matter that has no value in the Shari'ah. We need to see how the matter is handled now.
The student : I will explain it to you.
The Shaykh : If you allow me, here we need to see that it is also more likely in his opinion that from the country he is leaving to the country he is heading to, it is more likely in his opinion that he will not be able to find a place to stop and pray. If it is more likely in his opinion, the previous ruling remains; otherwise, it does not, because you know that all, or at least most, of the rulings of the Shari'ah are "based on the preponderance of opinion." If there is no preponderance of opinion, then it is not permissible to issue a ruling.
The student : Yes, and he may arrive before Maghrib, or he may not arrive; that is, his arrival before Maghrib is not certain. If he arrives before Maghrib, the problem is resolved.
The Shaykh : That is it; therefore, we are being precise about the matter.
The student : It is not certain that the traveler will arrive at the country he is traveling to before Maghrib; otherwise, the problem would be resolved.
The Shaykh : All right, what I see is that your answer is correct, but there must be a condition, which is that it must be more likely in his opinion that he will not reach the intended place before sunset.
The student : Yes, that is the limit.
The Shaykh : Yes, and there is another point, because it is not hidden from you the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that you mentioned, which said:
He wanted not to cause hardship for his Ummah
أرادَ ألَّا يُحرِجَ أمَّتَهThe student : That he will not catch up.
The Shaykh : Ah, that it is more likely, and then during the journey, did you hint or state explicitly that it is not possible to stop?
The student : He cannot stop because...
The Shaykh : It is not possible.
The student : He will not stop until he arrives.
The Shaykh : I mean, also, let me say, "he will not stop" is a matter that has no value in the Shari'ah. We need to see how the matter is handled now.
The student : I will explain it to you.
The Shaykh : If you allow me, here we need to see that it is also more likely in his opinion that from the country he is leaving to the country he is heading to, it is more likely in his opinion that he will not be able to find a place to stop and pray. If it is more likely in his opinion, the previous ruling remains; otherwise, it does not, because you know that all, or at least most, of the rulings of the Shari'ah are "based on the preponderance of opinion." If there is no preponderance of opinion, then it is not permissible to issue a ruling.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.