Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The traveller's prayer: shortening and combining > Residence, travel and shortening
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 7:46 PM
The shortening (qasr) of the four-rak'ah prayers is one of the great dispensations granted to the traveler. This first part sets out the classification of homelands (watan) in fiqh and what invalidates each of them, the definition of the minimum travel distance, and the judgment on modern means of transport. It then deals with the very status of shortening, its conditions, and the case of the journey of disobedience.
The jurists divided homelands into three: the original homeland (watan asli), the homeland of residence (watan iqama) and the homeland of dwelling (watan sukna).
The original homeland is the place where a person settles with his family, whether it is his birthplace or another town that he has taken as his home, where he has settled with his family and children, with no intention of leaving it, but with the intention of making a living there. The place where a person marries also takes the ruling of the original homeland, that is, the place where he contracted his marriage. The original homeland does not require the intention of residing there, but the Malikis require that the wife have been brought there while not rebellious (nashizah).
From the above it appears that the original homeland is established, in the view of most jurists, by permanent residence with the intention of staying forever, whether at the place of birth or elsewhere, and the place of the wife is attached to it. The original homeland may be one or several, for instance when a person has his family and his house in two towns or more, without his family intending to leave them, even if he moves from one family to another during the year. To the point that if he departs as a traveler from a town where his family is and enters another town where his family is, he becomes a resident without the intention of residence.
What invalidates the original homeland: al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the original homeland is invalidated only by its like. This occurs when a person settles in another town and moves his family there from his town, turning away from the first homeland and abandoning its dwelling; the first homeland then ceases to be an original homeland for him, to the point that if he enters it as a traveler, his prayer is not four rak'ahs.
The basis of this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Muhajirun among his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) were of the people of Mecca and had original homelands there. Then, when they emigrated and settled in Medina, making it their home, their original homeland in Mecca was invalidated, to the point that when they came to Mecca they performed the traveler's prayer. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) indeed said when he prayed with them:
Complete your prayer, O people of Mecca, for we are travelers.Reported by Abu Dawud (1229) and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih (3/70); al-Albani judged it weak in Da'if Abi Dawud (1040), but it is authentic with regard to Umar (may Allah be pleased with him)
The original homeland is not invalidated by the homeland of residence nor by the homeland of dwelling, for they are below it, and a thing is not superseded by what is below it. Likewise, it is not invalidated by the mere intention of traveling and leaving one's homeland: the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to depart from Medina as a traveler and his homeland remained his until he returned to it as a resident, without renewing his intention. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/103-104; al-Mabsut, 1/252; Ibn Abidin, 2/132; Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/43; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/214; al-'Inayah, 2/379; Durrar al-Hukkam, 2/110-112; al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, 1/142; al-Sharh al-Kabir, 1/362; Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/262; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/327-335)
According to the other narration, that of Ibn Sam'a from Muhammad ibn al-Hasan, a person becomes a resident without these two conditions, as is the apparent narration. The Malikis require, if the settling occurs at the beginning of the journey, that it lies at the distance of qasr; if it occurs during the journey, the distance is not required according to the relied-upon view. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/104; Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/43; Ibn Abidin, 2/132; al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, 1/142; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/362, 3642)
What invalidates the homeland of residence: it is invalidated by the original homeland, for the latter is above it, and by the homeland of residence as well, for it is its like, and a thing may be superseded by its like, whether a journey's distance separates them or not. It is also invalidated by travel, for settling in this case is not for permanence but for a need. As soon as he travels from that place, this indicates the fulfillment of his need and his turning away from settling there, which indicates its invalidation. The homeland of residence is not invalidated by the homeland of dwelling, for the latter is below it and therefore does not supersede it. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/104; Ibn Abidin, 2/132-133; Hashiyat al-Tahtawi, 1/280; Majma' al-Anhar, 1/243; al-Bahr al-Ra'iq, 2/148; al-'Inayah, 2/379)
The homeland of dwelling: it is when a person intends to stay in a town other than his own for a period shorter than the duration that breaks the journey, namely fifteen days. Its condition is the intention of not residing for the duration that breaks the journey, namely fifteen days. This is why he is counted a traveler with this intention, even if his stay grows long.
It is reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
He stayed at Tabuk twenty nights, shortening the prayer.Authentic hadith, reported by Abu Dawud (1235), al-Tirmidhi in al-'Ilal (158) and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (6/456)
It is also reported from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he stayed two months in a village of Nishapur, shortening the prayer. This ruling is nevertheless not agreed upon among the schools, with a detail that will be explained later, Allah willing.
What invalidates the homeland of dwelling: it is invalidated by the original homeland and the homeland of residence, for they are above it, and by the homeland of dwelling as well, for it is its like. It is also invalidated by travel, for settling in this case is not for permanence but for a need. As soon as he travels from that place, this indicates the fulfillment of his need and his turning away from settling there, which invalidates it. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/104)
The turning of a resident into a traveler and its conditions: the resident becomes a traveler when the following conditions are met.
The people of knowledge differed over defining the distance at which the shortening of the prayer is permitted.
The Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis held that the minimum duration of the journey is the distance of two moderate days without a night, or of two nights without a day, or of a day and a night. They measured travel in miles and counted forty-eight miles, that is, four barid, estimated at the pace of two moderate days. This distance equals about 86.4 km: the barid (postal stage) is the distance of four farsakh, the farsakh equals three miles, and the mile about 1.8 km, hence 86.4 km.
They supported this with the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
O people of Mecca, do not shorten within less than four barid, from 'Usfan to Mecca.Judged fabricated; reported by al-Daraqutni (148) and al-Bayhaqi (3/137) from him
And with the fact that Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) "used to shorten and break the fast at four barid," that is, sixteen farsakh. This report is authentic: al-Bukhari mentioned it suspended (mu'allaq, 1/368), al-Bayhaqi connected it with a complete chain (3/137), and al-Nawawi authenticated it in al-Majmu' (5/431). (al-Sharh al-Saghir, 1/312; Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 3/591; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/238; al-Majmu', 5/424; al-Mughni, 2/479-481; al-Insaf, 2/318; al-Ifsah, 1/218)
The Hanafis, according to the sound position with them, held the minimum distance to be the journey of three days and their nights, based on what is reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
The resident wipes his khuffs a day and a night, and the traveler three days and their nights.Authentic hadith, cited earlier
The reason for holding to this hadith is that it entails that everyone who is truly a traveler is granted the wiping for three days. The lam in "and for the traveler" indeed expresses totality (istighraq), as on the side of the resident, and this is only conceivable if the minimum duration of the journey is estimated at three days. For had it been estimated at less, the traveler could not cover that duration, his journey coming to an end; the estimation at three days is therefore necessary, otherwise some travelers would fall outside it. And according to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him):
It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allah and the Last Day to travel a distance of three days except with a husband or a mahram.Reported by al-Bukhari (1089) and Muslim (1338)
Had the duration not been estimated at three days, the specification of three would have no meaning. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/93-94; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/209; al-Ikhtiyar, 1/97; Mukhtasar al-Quduri, 38; al-Ifsah, 1/218)
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) preferred this view, so as to exit the dispute, and said: I love that one not shorten for less than three days' journey. (al-Majmu', 5/422)
The reference in travel is the middle pace: the walk of camels laden with burdens and the walking of feet according to custom, together with what it includes of halting, rest, eating and prayer. At sea, moderate winds are considered, for they constitute the mean: winds that are neither prevailing nor still.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah and his disciple Ibn al-Qayyim held that the traveler shortens the prayer in everything that is called travel, by the word of Allah:
"And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer"
Surah an-Nisa, 101
The apparent meaning of the verse indicates that shortening is connected with every movement through the land, without specifying a set distance. Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the scholars disputed whether it is specific to a journey over another journey, or whether it is permitted in every journey; the more apparent of the two views is that it is permitted in every journey, short or long, as the people of Mecca shortened behind the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) at 'Arafah and Mina, whereas between Mecca and 'Arafah lies about one barid, that is, four farsakh.
He added: the Book and the Sunnah do not specify one journey over another, neither for shortening, nor for breaking the fast, nor for tayammum, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not define the distance of shortening by any limit, whether temporal or spatial. The opinions mentioned on this contradict one another, none of them carries binding proof, and it is not possible to bound it by a sound limit: the land, in most journeys, is not measured by a precise measure, and the movement of the traveler varies. What is required is to leave unrestricted what the Lawgiver left unrestricted and to restrict what He restricted: the traveler therefore shortens the prayer in every journey, and likewise all the rulings connected with travel, the shortening, the prayer on the mount and the wiping of the khuffs. Whoever divided journeys into short and long, assigned some rulings to this and some to that, tying them to the long journey, has no proof to which return is obligatory. And Allah knows best. (Majmu' al-Fatawa, 24/12-13, 35)
They also argued this with the fact that it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) shortened within less than the defined distances. From Anas (may Allah be pleased with him):
When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set out for a distance of three miles or three farsakh, he prayed two rak'ahs.Reported by Muslim (691)
This hadith explicitly indicates that shortening is connected with travel in general, even if it were three miles or three farsakh. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: it is the most authentic hadith and the most explicit of those reported on this matter. (Fath al-Bari, 2/660) From Anas as well:
I prayed the noon prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in Medina as four rak'ahs, and the afternoon prayer at Dhu al-Hulayfah as two rak'ahs.Reported by al-Bukhari (1089) and Muslim (690)
Between the two places lie three miles. (Zad al-Ma'ad, 2/235; al-Mughni, 2/481; al-Insaf, 2/18; Nayl al-Awtar, 1/167)
The ruling regarding modern means of travel: it was mentioned that the jurists defined the minimum distance required for shortening the prayer, taking the middle pace (walking and camels) as the basis of estimation, which is about 86.4 km among the majority. The question here is to know the ruling when modern means of travel are used, such as trains, cars and planes, where comfort and short duration are found.
The jurists have addressed this subject. With the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, their statements clearly show that if the traveler covers the defined distance of travel in a shorter time, by using faster means, he shortens the prayer, for it is true of him that he traveled the distance of qasr.
Al-Dasuqi, of the Malikis, said: his saying "to a traveler" means: even if his journey is contrary to custom, by plane or at a stride. Whoever covers the distance by his journey shortens, even if he were to cover it in an instant by plane and the like. (Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/358)
And al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our companions said: if he were to cover the equivalent of forty-eight miles in an hour or in an instant, shortening would be permitted to him, for it is a distance valid for shortening, and covering it in a short time does not affect it. (al-Majmu', 5/423)
And al-Bahuti (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the traveler shortens the four-rak'ah prayers to two by consensus, even if he were to cover the distance in a single hour, for it is true of him that he traveled four barid, the distance of qasr. (Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/505; Sharh Muntaha al-Iradat, 1/293; Kashf al-Mukhadarat, 1/183)
As for the Hanafis, the transmissions differ among them. Al-Kasani reported in Bada'i' as-Sana'i' from Abu Hanifah (may Allah have mercy on him) that if the traveler goes to a place in a day or two, whereas by the customary pace of camels and walking it is three days' journey, he shortens the prayer, in consideration of the customary pace. This view agrees with the previous schools, for Abu Hanifah took the legal cause to be the covering of the distance.
Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: from Abu Hanifah, concerning one who travels by sea for a day, which on land is three days: he shortens the prayer, for speed is not taken into account. Likewise, if he travels on land to a place in a day or two, whereas by camels and customary walking it is three days, he shortens, in consideration of the customary pace. On this basis, if he travels in mountains and difficult passes, the three days' journey is estimated in those terrains, not on the plain. The upshot is that the estimation is made at three days' journey, or at the stages, on the plain, the mountain, the land and the sea, taking into account for each the customary pace, which is known among people and to whom reference is made when unclear. Estimating by farsakh is not sound, for it varies with the route.
Abu Hanifah said: if someone sets out to a town in three days, while he could reach it by another route in a single day, he shortens, for the ruling is tied to the journey. What counts, therefore, is three days' journey with the intention of travel, and it did occur. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/94)
But Kamal ibn al-Humam (may Allah have mercy on him) took the legal cause for shortening the prayer in travel to be the hardship that befalls the traveler. That is why he mentions that if the traveler covers the distance in a short hour, he does not shorten the prayer, even if it is true of him that he covered three days' journey by camels, for lack of any presumptive hardship, which is the legal cause. (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/30-31)
Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "I prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) two rak'ahs, with Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) two rak'ahs, and with Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) two rak'ahs. Then the ways diverged with you: would that my share of four rak'ahs were two accepted rak'ahs!" (Reported by al-Bukhari (1574) and Muslim (695))
And Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
We set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he shortened the prayer until we reached Mecca. He stayed there ten days shortening the prayer, until he returned to Medina.Reported by al-Bukhari (4046) and Muslim (693)
As for consensus: Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they agreed that whoever travels a journey, the prayer is shortened in its like, such as hajj, jihad or 'umrah. He shortens the noon, the afternoon and the night prayer, praying each of them two rak'ahs, and they agreed not to shorten in the maghrib nor in the dawn prayer. (al-Ijma', 26)
The ruling on shortening the prayer during travel: the jurists differed: is it permitted, obligatory, or a confirmed sunnah?
The Hanafis and the Malikis, in one of the sayings, held that the traveler's obligation from the four-rak'ah prayers is two rak'ahs only. The traveler therefore may not complete the prayer as four rak'ahs, for it is the original rule ('azimah), not a dispensation (rukhsah). According to the word of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her):
Allah made the prayer obligatory when He decreed it, two rak'ahs each, in residence as in travel. The prayer of travel was confirmed as it was, and the prayer of residence was increased.Reported by al-Bukhari (343, 1040) and Muslim (685)
This is known only through revelation (tawqif). And according to the word of Umar (may Allah be pleased with him):
The prayer of travel is two rak'ahs, that of Friday two rak'ahs, and that of the Eid two rak'ahs: complete, without shortening, on the tongue of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).Authentic hadith, reported by al-Nasa'i (1420), Ibn Majah (1064), Ahmad (257), Ibn Khuzaymah in his Sahih (1425) and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (2783)
And from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both):
Allah decreed the prayer through the tongue of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): for the traveler two rak'ahs, and for the resident four.Reported by Muslim (687)
Imam al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our companions said: the traveler's obligation from the four-rak'ah prayers is two rak'ahs, no more. Al-Shafi'i said: four, like the obligation of the resident, except that the traveler is permitted to shorten as a dispensation. Some of our shaykhs titled the issue thus: shortening, with us, is the original rule, and completion is the dispensation.
This title is an error with respect to our principle, for the two rak'ahs of the four-rak'ah prayers, for the traveler, do not constitute a shortening in the true sense with us. They are the completion of his obligation, and completion is not for him a dispensation, but a mistake and a contravention of the Sunnah. Thus it is reported from Abu Hanifah that he said: whoever completes the prayer during travel has erred and contravened the Sunnah.
This is because the dispensation is the name of what changes from the original ruling, owing to a concomitant factor permitting lightening and ease, according to what is known in the principles of fiqh. Now the meaning of change is not found at all in the case of the traveler: the prayer was originally made obligatory at two rak'ahs for the resident and the traveler alike. Then two rak'ahs were added for the resident, while the two rak'ahs remained as they were for the traveler, as at the origin. The meaning of change is therefore absent in his case from the outset. In the resident's case, the change occurred, but toward strictness and hardship, not toward ease, and the dispensation points to the opposite. It was therefore not, in the true sense, a dispensation for him; if it is so named, it is only named metaphorically, because one of the meanings of the literal is present, namely change. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/91-92; Tabyin al-Haqa'iq, 1/210; Bulghat al-Salik, 1/311; al-Ifsah, 1/218)
As for the Malikis, the well-known position with them is that shortening is a confirmed sunnah: it is not authentically reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) completed the prayer, but what is transmitted from him is shortening in all his journeys. Since such was his constant practice, it is a confirmed sunnah.
Shaykh Ahmad al-Sawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Bulghat al-Salik: his saying "a confirmed sunnah": this is the preferred view. Qadi 'Iyad said in al-Ikmal: its being a sunnah is the well-known position of the school of Malik, of most of his companions, and of most of the scholars of the predecessors and the successors. It is also said: shortening is an obligation; it is said: recommended; it is said: permitted. (Bulghat al-Salik, 1/311)
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis held that shortening is permitted, as a lightening for the traveler, owing to what befalls him for the most part of the hardship of travel. They supported this with the word of Allah:
"there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer"
Surah an-Nisa, 101
Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the expression "no blame" is used only for the permitted. And Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: this indicates that shortening is a dispensation, a choice between doing it and leaving it, like the other dispensations.
Ya'la ibn Umayyah said: I said to Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) concerning the word of Allah:
"there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve may disrupt you"
Surah an-Nisa, 101
He said: I wondered at what you wonder at. I then asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he said: it is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity. This authentic hadith was cited earlier. It indicates that shortening is a dispensation, not an original rule, and that it is limited to the four-rak'ah prayers.
Al-Aswad reported from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said:
I went out with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) for the 'umrah of Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah broke the fast and I fasted, and he shortened and I completed. I said: O Messenger of Allah, by my father and my mother, you broke the fast and I fasted, you shortened and I completed. He said: You did well, O Aisha, and he did not blame me for it.Reported by al-Nasa'i (3/123), al-Daraqutni (2294) and al-Bayhaqi in as-Sunan al-Kubra (3/142); al-Nawawi said: its chain is hasan or sahih; al-Bayhaqi reports that al-Daraqutni said: its chain is hasan, and he says in Ma'rifat al-Sunan wa al-Athar: its chain is sahih
This is explicit concerning the ruling, and because if one completed in the manner of a resident and prayed four rak'ahs, the prayer would be valid, and the prayer is not increased by following (the imam).
Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the consensus of the majority of jurists that the traveler who enters the prayer of the residents and catches one rak'ah of it must pray four rak'ahs is a clear proof that shortening is a dispensation. Were its obligation two rak'ahs, four would never be required of him. He reported through his chain from 'Ata', from Aisha:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to complete the prayer during travel and to shorten it.Reported by Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf (2/206) and al-Daraqutni (6/189), who said: its chain is authentic; Shaykh al-Islam said: it is a lie against the Messenger of Allah (al-Fatawa, 24/153; al-Irwa, 3/3, 9)
The majority of jurists, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, hold that shortening is better than completion. As for the Hanafis, this shortening is the original rule with them. (at-Tamhid, 16/311; Ma'ani al-Athar, 1/306; al-Sharh al-Saghir, 1/311; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/237; al-Majmu', 5/438-440; al-Mughni, 2/495; al-Insaf, 2/321-322; al-Ifsah, 1/219)
The conditions of shortening: the traveler shortens the four-rak'ah prayer to two rak'ahs when the following conditions are met.
Ibn Hubayrah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they agreed that one who travels without aiming at a specific direction is not granted dispensation, except for what is reported from Abu Hanifah: if he is in this state, then travels a three days' journey, he shortens the prayer after that. (al-Ifsah, 1/221)
Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: because traveling may or may not be a journey. A person may leave his town for a place to repair his property, then another need appears to go beyond it to another place, with no journey distance between them, then again, until he covers a distance longer than the journey distance without intending travel. The intention is therefore necessary for distinction. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/94)
It is said in Sharh Fath al-Qadir: were someone to circle the world without the intention of covering a three days' journey, he would take no dispensation. On this basis they said: a commander goes out with his army seeking the enemy, not knowing where he will meet them: they pray the prayer of residence on the way out, even if the time grows long, as well as during the stay at that place. As for the return, if it is of the distance of a journey, they shorten. (Sharh Fath al-Qadir, 2/28; Durrar al-Hukkam, 2/113; al-Qawanin al-Fiqhiyyah, 59; al-Sharh al-Kabir, 1/363; al-Majmu', 5/435; al-Mughni, 2/481; al-Umm, 1/180; Minh al-Jalil, 1/407)
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: consideration is given to the intention, not to the act: what is required is that he intend a distance that permits shortening. If he left intending a far journey and shortened the prayer, then it occurred to him and he returned, what he prayed remains valid, and he does not shorten on his return unless the distance of the return is in itself permitting. Ahmad explicitly stated this. If he left seeking a runaway slave whose whereabouts he does not know, or to seek beneficial rain for crops or pasture, staying put or returning as soon as he finds them, or wandering about the land without aiming at any place, shortening is not permitted to him, even if he traveled for days. Ibn 'Aqil said: shortening is permitted to him when he reaches a permitting distance, for he is a traveler on a long journey. Ibn Qudamah answered: he did not intend the distance of shortening, so it is not permitted to him at the beginning of his journey. And since it is not permitted at the beginning, it is not permitted during it as long as he has not changed his intention, like the short journey and the journey of disobedience. When he returns intending his town, or intends the distance of shortening, shortening is permitted to him, on account of his permitting intention. If he aimed at a far town, or resolved that, as soon as he found what he sought, he would return or stay, shortening is not permitted to him, for he did not commit to a long journey, even if he would return and not stay. (al-Mughni, 2/49)
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: our companions said: it is required, for the permissibility of shortening, that he bind his aim to a known destination. As for the lost wanderer (ha'im) who does not know where he is heading and has no aim at any place, and the rider of arbitrary paths, the one who follows no road and has no known aim, they never take dispensation, neither shortening nor any other dispensation of travel, even if their journey grows long and reaches the stages. Such is the madhhab, and by it the companions ruled, on every path.
Al-Baghawi said, and others with him, and likewise al-Badawi: one who goes out seeking pasture, on the condition that when he finds a grassy place he settles there, no dispensation applies to him. (al-Majmu', 5/437)
In the legal intention of travel, what counts is the intention of the origin, not of the follower: the one whose journey follows that of another becomes a traveler by the intention of that other, as with the wife who follows her husband.
The wife who follows her husband becomes a traveler by the intention of her husband. Likewise one who is bound to obey another, such as the sultan and the commander of the army: he becomes a traveler by the intention of the one whose obedience is required of him, for the ruling of the follower is the ruling of the origin. Such is the madhhab of the Hanafis and the Hanbalis. (Bada'i' as-Sana'i', 1/94; Kashshaf al-Qina', 1/325)
The Shafi'is said: if the wife follows her husband, or the soldier his commander, in travel, without either of them knowing the destination of the other, there is no shortening for them, for the condition, namely aiming at a specific place, is not fulfilled. This holds until they reach the distance of shortening: if they cover it, they shorten.
If the wife intended the distance of shortening without her husband, or the soldier without his commander, or if both were unaware of the situation, the soldier not registered in the diwan shortens, unlike the wife. The soldier is then not under the power and authority of the commander, unlike the wife, whose intention counts as nothing. As for the soldier registered in the diwan, he does not shorten, for he is under the authority of the commander, and likewise the army: were it said that he is not under the power and authority of the commander, like isolated individuals, corruption would be great. (Mughni al-Muhtaj, 1/268; al-Iqna' of al-Shirbini, 1/173; Nihayat al-Muhtaj, 2/262; al-Majmu', 5/436)
Shortening during a journey of disobedience: the majority of jurists, the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, require that the journey in which the prayer is shortened not be a journey of disobedience. The sinner therefore does not shorten by his journey: one who goes out for highway robbery, or to fight the Muslims unjustly, or the merchant in wine and forbidden things, or the wife rebellious against her husband, or one absent from his creditor while able to pay his debt, and the like. It is not permitted to him to take the dispensation of shortening or any other dispensation of travel.
By the word of Allah:
"there is no sin upon him who is compelled, neither desiring it nor transgressing"
Surah al-Baqarah, 173
Allah permitted eating to one who is neither rebelling nor transgressing; it is therefore not permitted to the rebel nor to the transgressor. Ibn Abbas said: not one rebelling against the Muslims, breaking away from their community and frightening the road, nor transgressing against them. Indeed, the dispensation was legislated to help attain a permitted aim and reach the interest. Were it legislated here, it would be an aid to the forbidden leading to corruption, and the Law is far above that. The texts came regarding the Companions, whose journeys were permitted; the ruling therefore is not established for the one whose journey contradicts theirs.
If the sinner shortened by his journey: with the Malikis, according to the sounder view, he does not repeat the prayer, even if he sinned by his disobedience.
And one who began his journey in disobedience, then repented during it: with the Malikis, the Shafi'is according to the authentic view, and the Hanbalis, he shortens if what remains of his journey reaches the distance of shortening.
And if he traveled a permitted journey, then intended by his journey the disobedience before its completion, the dispensation ceases. He does not shorten from the moment he intended the disobedience, for the journey of disobedience contradicts the dispensation. This is the position of the Malikis, of the Shafi'is according to the most authentic view, and of the Hanbalis.
The second position of the Shafi'is: he takes the dispensation of shortening and the others, for the journey was contracted as permitted and the sinner does not change it. This is the one who set out on a permitted journey with a sound intention, then committed acts of disobedience along his way, such as drinking wine. The dispensation of shortening and the others is his, without disagreement among the Malikis, the Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, for he is not forbidden from travel; he is only forbidden the disobedience, unlike the one who sins by his journey. (al-Sharh al-Kabir with Hashiyat al-Dasuqi, 1/358; al-Dhakhirah, 2/367; Bidayat al-Mujtahid, 1/238; al-Sharh al-Saghir, 1/313; al-Majmu', 5/445-447; Asna al-Matalib, 2371; al-Hawi al-Kabir, 2/358; al-Mughni, 2/485-487; al-Insaf, 2/314-315; al-Ifsah, 1/220)
As for the Hanafis, they did not require the journey to be permitted, but permitted shortening even in a journey of disobedience.
Imam Ala al-Din al-Samarqandi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the dispensation, which is the shortening of the prayer and the other dispensations, is established for travel in general. Whether it be a journey of obedience such as jihad and hajj, a permitted journey such as setting out for trade, or a journey of disobedience such as setting out for highway robbery and the like. Such is our position. (Tuhfat al-Fuqaha, 1/255)
They said: the texts that came do not require distinguishing one traveler from another. Among these texts is the word of Allah:
"So whoever among you is ill or on a journey"
Surah al-Baqarah, 184
And His word:
"And if you fear, then pray on foot or riding"
Surah al-Baqarah, 239
And the word of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him):
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) set three days and their nights for the traveler, and a day and a night for the resident.Authentic hadith, cited earlier
With no distinction between one journey and another; hence it becomes obligatory...