Qasr Prayer When Travelling: Shortening, Combining and How Far You Must Go

Qasr means shortening the four-rak'ah prayers, Dhuhr, Asr and Isha, to two rak'ahs while travelling; Fajr stays at two and Maghrib at three. Quran 4:101 says there is no sin in shortening the prayer when you travel in the land, and mentions fear. When a Companion asked Umar why people still shortened in safety, Umar said he had asked the Prophet the same question and was told that it is a charity Allah has given you, so accept it (Sahih Muslim 686a).

Aisha explains in Sahih al-Bukhari 1090 that the prayers were first prescribed as two rak'ahs each; the travel prayer was kept as it was and the resident's prayer was completed. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1109 Ibn Umar prays Maghrib as three and Isha as two on a journey. Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahmad's Shafi'i answer cites al-Rafi'i and al-Nawawi for consensus that Fajr and Maghrib are not shortened and the Maliki Risala agrees.

Sources: [1] [2] [14] [20] [34] [33]

The schools differ. Shaykh Faraz A. Khan's Hanafi answer says a traveller must (wajib) shorten Dhuhr, Asr and Isha. The Maliki answer on SeekersGuidance calls shortening a strong Sunnah. The Mathabah answer on IslamQA notes an opinion in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools that a traveller may pray the full four, though it is not preferred, and Imam John Starling's Hanbali answer says shortening is better and completing is not disliked.

The Prophet's own practice was to shorten. Ibn Umar says in Sahih al-Bukhari 1102 that he never saw him pray more than two rak'ahs on a journey, and that Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman did the same. The Companions still discussed the question: Sahih al-Bukhari 1084 records Ibn Mas'ud's dismay when Uthman later prayed four at Mina, and 1090 notes that Aisha also prayed in full, following the same reasoning as Uthman.

Sources: [23] [31] [30] [41] [18] [12] [14]

Most scholars use a journey of four burud, while the Hanafi school uses three days' travel, and modern conversions of both vary. Al-Bukhari's chapter on the distance records that Ibn Umar and Ibn Abbas shortened the prayer and broke their fast on a journey of four burud, which it equates with sixteen farsakh.

Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahmad's Shafi'i answer treats sixteen farsakh as about 80 km. The Federal Territory Mufti of Malaysia uses 81 km, and explains that the Shafi'i two marhalah are an approximation, with modern estimates from about 82 to 90 km. The Maliki Risala gives forty-eight miles, and Imam John Starling's Hanbali answer gives sixteen farsakh. For the Hanafi school, Shaykh Faraz A. Khan gives roughly 48 miles (77 km), while Dr GF Haddad's Hanafi answer converts 48 Hashemite miles to about 88.7 km.

Because the figures differ, follow the one your teacher or local mosque uses. The Shafi'i answer counts the journey to your destination, not the return, and the Maliki Risala requires the full distance to be intended from the start.

Sources: [8] [34] [39] [38] [33] [41] [23] [28]

You start once you have left the built-up area of your town and stop when you are back in it. Al-Bukhari's chapter on this records that Ali began shortening when he left Kufa while its houses were still in sight, and on the way back refused to pray in full until he had entered it. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1089 Anas prays four rak'ahs of Dhuhr with the Prophet in Madinah and two at Dhul-Hulayfah, outside it.

The schools describe the starting point in similar terms: passing the city limits in Dr GF Haddad's Hanafi answer and Ustadha Shazia Ahmad's Shafi'i answer, leaving all the houses of the town behind in the Maliki Risala, and passing the homes of your town in the Hanbali answer.

Sources: [8] [13] [28] [35] [33] [41]

It depends on how long you intend to stay at your destination. Shaykh Faraz A. Khan explains that in the Hanafi school a traveller who intends to stay 15 days or more becomes a resident and prays in full, and Dr GF Haddad adds that someone who never intends a 15-day stay keeps shortening even if the stay grows longer. The other schools use about four days, counted differently, as the table shows.

The reports behind these views differ. Ibn Abbas says in Sahih al-Bukhari 1080 that the Prophet stayed nineteen days shortening the prayer, and that they therefore shortened for stays of up to nineteen days and prayed in full beyond that. Anas says in Sahih al-Bukhari 1081 that they stayed ten days in Makkah and shortened throughout. IslamWeb notes that most scholars set the limit at more than four days, while some allow shortening for as long as one remains a traveller.

If you are held up and do not know when you can leave, the Shafi'i answer allows shortening for up to eighteen days, and the Hanbali answer allows it for as long as you stay for a need without intending to remain more than four days.

Sources: [23] [28] [9] [10] [42] [30] [43] [35] [36] [33] [41] [32] [34] [29] [38]

Most schools allow a traveller to pray Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, in the time of either prayer. Ibn Abbas reports in Sahih al-Bukhari 1107 that the Prophet combined Dhuhr with Asr when on the move, and Maghrib with Isha. Anas reports in Sahih al-Bukhari 1111 and Sahih Muslim 704a that when he set out before midday he delayed Dhuhr to the time of Asr and prayed them together, and Muadh reports in Sahih Muslim 706a that he combined both pairs on the Tabuk expedition.

Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahmad's Shafi'i answer sets out the method: when bringing the later prayer forward, intend to combine, pray the earlier prayer first and the later one straight after it, and never combine Fajr with Dhuhr or Asr with Maghrib. In Sahih al-Bukhari 1109 Ibn Umar gives a separate iqamah for each prayer. The Hanbali answer permits combining but prefers to avoid it except at Arafah and Muzdalifah, and the Maliki answer allows it once you are outside your town.

The Hanafi school differs. Darul Iftaa Chicago explains that it does not permit combining two prayers in one prayer's time, even for travellers, except at Arafah and Muzdalifah; a traveller may instead pray the first prayer at the end of its time and the second at the start of its own. The same answer notes that some Hanafi scholars allow following another school's method in genuine necessity.

Sources: [19] [21] [6] [7] [34] [20] [41] [32] [29] [30]

Pray the full four rak'ahs with him. Sahih Muslim 694c records that Ibn Umar prayed four rak'ahs behind the imam at Mina and two when he prayed alone, and in Sahih Muslim 688a Ibn Abbas, asked how to pray in Makkah when not praying with the imam, answered two rak'ahs, the Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim.

The schools agree on following the imam. Sidi Waseem Hussain's Hanafi answer says a traveller behind a resident imam prays four and may not end the prayer after two; the Shafi'i answer says praying behind someone completing the prayer makes yours complete; the Hanbali answer lists following a resident among the reasons to pray in full; and the Maliki Risala reports Ibn al-Qasim's view that a traveller who catches a rak'ah with the imam completes the prayer.

Sources: [5] [3] [24] [34] [41] [33]

On journeys the Prophet usually left the regular sunnah prayers attached to the obligatory ones, but kept witr, the two rak'ahs before Fajr and voluntary prayer at night. Ibn Umar says in Sahih al-Bukhari 1101 and 1102 that he did not see the Prophet add voluntary prayers on journeys, and in Sahih Muslim 689a remarks that if he were going to pray them he would rather have completed the obligatory prayer. Al-Bukhari's chapter heading records the two rak'ahs of Fajr on a journey, and Sahih al-Bukhari 1098 reports voluntary prayers and witr on his mount.

Shaykh Abu Usama's answer on SeekersGuidance, following the Hanafi view that witr is necessary, says it must be prayed on a journey; the other sunnah prayers may be left when you are in a hurry, except the sunnah of Fajr, and should be prayed when you are settled. Sunnah prayers themselves are never shortened.

Sources: [17] [18] [4] [8] [15] [26] [30]

Pray before you board or after you arrive where you can, and on board stand and face the qibla if you are able. Sahih al-Bukhari 1099 reports that the Prophet prayed voluntary prayers on his mount but dismounted and faced the qibla for obligatory prayers, and Sahih al-Bukhari 1117 teaches praying standing, then sitting if you cannot, then lying on your side.

The Shafi'i answer on SeekersGuidance says a passenger in a car should stop to pray standing, and on a plane or boat must stand facing the qibla, turning with it; if unsure of the direction, pray in the prayer's time and repeat it later. Ustadh Salman Younas's Hanafi answer says to pray standing with bowing and prostration, or seated with real prostration, and to repeat on arrival a prayer made in the seat by gestures. Combining, where your school allows it, can avoid the problem.

Sources: [16] [22] [37] [27]

Questions readers often ask

Put this into practice