Prayer shortening and combination

TRAVELLER’S PRAYER SHORTENING

Prayer shortening has been legislated in the fourth Islamic Year. 
It is a new addition to facilitation of Islam in acts of worship. Abu-Hanifah sees it is an emphasized Sunnah, and AL Shafii sees that it is better for those who have travelled more than three days. 
It is permissible to, indeed duty on, the traveller to shorten four unit-prayers (noon, afternoon, and night prayers) to two prayer units.

God says ﴾And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer﴿Chapter of Women.

●ᶦAᶦishah reported: Allah enjoined the prayer when He enjoined it, it was two units only (in every prayer) both when in residence or on journey. Then, the prayers offered on journey remained the same, but (the units of) the prayers for non-travellers were increased. [AL Bukhari].

●ᶦUmar ibn AL-Khattab (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said: “It is an act of charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept charity.” [Muslim].

●Anas ibn Malik reported: The Prophet resided in Makkah and its surroundings for ten  days, and he shortened his prayers in all these days.

Conditions of prayer shortening:

1) Travel is not for disobedience. NO prayer shortening for the one who has travelled to kill, rub others, or to participate in amusement events.

2) Travel distance must be 81 km according to Abu-Hanifah School, or 89 km according to Imam Shafii School.

3) Travel direction must be specified. But the one, who is wandering aimlessly, does not shorten his prayer.

Prayer shortening provisions:

❶If a Muslim travelled, and when he arrived he decided to reside there, he would not be allowed to shorten his prayer.

❷If his residence period in the country (to which he had travelled) exceeded fifteen days, he would not shorten his prayer (according to Abu- Hanifah School). According to Malik School, if he intended to stay four days in the country to which he had travelled (the day of entering this country is not included in them), he would be considered a resident there and would not shorten his prayer.

❸If he missed a prayer in his country, he would not shorten it, but he would perform it in full.

❹If he prayed, during his travel, behind a resident leader (Imam), he would do it in full.

❺A Muslim is considered a traveller as soon as he passes the end of his country borders or the gateway, and his travel ends as soon as he enters his country borders.

❻If a sailor travelled in a ship with his family and money in it, he would be allowed to shorten his prayer (according to Imam Shafii, Malik, and Abu-Hanifah Schools). But  Ahmad ibn Hanbal sees that this sailor is not allowed to shorten his prayer.

❼If he travelled to fulfill a need and could not determine time period required for it, he would be allowed to shorten his prayer (according to Imam Malik School).

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COMBINATION of TWO PRAYERS

Its legitimacy: 

It has been legislated in Tabuk Holy Battle, in the ninth year of Hijrah. Allah commanded it to relieve His servants.

Causes of prayers combination in the four schools:

[1] Shafii: He has allowed combination of two prayers when conditions of prayer shortening are met.  It will be advanced combination only.

[2] Imam Malik: He has allowed combination of two prayers in case of road travel for any distance, even if a person is not travelling to perform pilgrimage. For example: Severe illness, rain and mud, and presence of a pilgrim at Arafat or Muzdalifah.

[3] Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal: He allowed combination in case of travelling to perform pilgrimage, provided that the distance travelled is equal to that required to shorten prayer. And in case of severe illness, blindness, extreme cold, and wild wind.

[4] Abu-Hanifah: He allowed combination to a pilgrim only at Arafat (advanced combination), and at Muzdalifah (delayed combination), on the basis of the following tradition:

●Abdullah ibn Masᶦud reported: By Him besides Whom there is no god but He, the Apostle of Allah has never performed a prayer out of its proper time, except two prayers: he combined noon and afternoon prayers at Arafat (advanced combination), and combined  sunset and night prayers (delayed combination) at Muzdalifah. 

[AL-Bukhari and Muslim].

Types of prayers combination

A traveller can both shorten and combine two prayers (noon and afternoon prayers), (sunset and night prayers).

Note: No amendment in this, i.e., you cannot combine noon and sunset prayers, afternoon and night prayers, etc.

۞You perform the noon prayer on time and follow it with the afternoon prayer (advanced combination), or you perform the noon prayer after the call to the afternoon prayer and follow it with performing the afternoon prayer (delayed combination). This occurs 

according to your travel conditions.

۞Also you can combine sunset and night prayers before or after the call to the night prayer.

Prayer combination provisions

1) In travel, you are not obliged to perform Friday prayer; instead, you perform noon  prayer.

2) Prayer combination conditions: are the same as those of prayer shortening, in addition  to:

a)) Performing the two prayers in order.       

b)) There is no long separation between the two prayers.

3) The intention text will be, for example, “I have intended to pray the two prayer units of the obligatory noon prayer combined and shortened.”

4) It is permissible to the resident to combine two prayers (advanced combination only),  and that occurs in case of heavy rain.

●Ibn ᶦAbbas reported: The Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) performed the noon and afternoon prayers together, and the sunset and the night prayers together without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey. [Muslim].

●Ibn ᶦUmar reported: I saw Allah’s Apostle, whenever he was in a hurry during the journey, delaying the sunset prayer, performing it in three prayer units, and performing prayer end greeting. After waiting for a short while, he would pronounce the second call (AL-Iqamah) to the night prayer, offer two prayer units, and perform prayer end greeting. 

[AL-Bukhari].

  

(Pillars of Islam (Arkaan AL-Islam

(Pillars of Islam (Arkaan AL-Islam

❶Testifying that there is no true god except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

❷Establishment of prayer (Salah).         

❸Payment of obligatory charity (Zakah).

❹Fasting the month of Ramadan (Saum).

❺Performing pilgrimage (Hajj) to the House of Allah (Kaᶦbah) for whoever is able to bear the journey.

Pillars of Islam are of three types:

1) Physical worship, as prayer and fasting.   

2) Financial worship, as charity.

3) Both physical and financial, as pilgrimage.

Necessary Correction:

Some people incorrectly think that the five pillars of Islam are enough for a Muslim to be forgiven for his bad treatment of others. And this is a mistaken belief, as Islam and faith are the summation of success in life elements which are: religion and this world, or acts of worship and transactions.

Here is an example for clarification:

Suppose that Islam is a great palace. The five pillars of Islam would serve as the walls and columns, and dealing with people (i.e., purchase, marriage, education, neighborhood and social relationships) would serve as the doors and windows that make this palace livable. Success in performing acts of worship does not substitute for success in transactions.

God’s rights:

He may tolerate in them, if His servant’s repentance is sincere.

Servants’ rights: 

Are based on miserliness, so on Judgment Day, the servant needs critically to have merits to avoid going to hell. To be more precise, we will provide these two traditions:

●In Sahih Muslim, Abu-Hurairah reported that the Prophet (P.P.B.U.H) said:“Do you know who is the bankrupt?” They said: “The bankrupt among us is the one who has neither money with him nor any property.” 
He said, “The real bankrupt of my nation (Ummah) is the one who comes on the Day of Judgment with prayers, fasts and obligatory charity, but he comes having abused this one, falsely accusing that one, unlawfully consuming the wealth of this one, spilling the blood of that one, and beating this one. 
So his merits are credited to the account of those (who suffered at his hands). And if his merits are exhausted before they clear the account, then their sins will be entered in his account and he will be thrown in the Hell.”

●In Sahih AL-Bukhari, Abu-Hurairah reported that the Prophet said, “Whoever has oppressed another person concerning his reputation or anything else, he should beg him to forgive him before the Day of Judgment when there will be no money (to compensate for wrong deeds), but if he has good deeds, those good deeds will be taken from him according to his oppression which he has done, and if he has no good deeds, the sins of the oppressed person will be loaded on him.”

So, a Muslim who wants to escape going to hell, should consider his situation from God’s rights and people’s rights daily before he meets God.

It remains for us to mention that, these five pillars are essential in a Muslim’s faith, so whoever denies one of them is an infidel according to scholars’ consensus.

 A delegation from Thaqif came to the Prophet offering to be Muslims without performing prayers, but the Prophet refused and said: “There is no good in a religion with no prayer.” And when some Muslims refused to pay obligatory charity (Zakah), Abu Bakr spoke loudly and said, “By Allah, I will kill those who differentiated between prayer and charity.”

Indeed, whoever testifies that there is no god but Allah, but refuses to testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, is NOT a Muslim according to scholars’ consensus.

Read also
Prayer (Salah)      
Obligatory Charity (Zakah)
Fasting (Saum)
Pilgrimage (Hajj) and (Umrah)