Shortening ṣalāh as a traveller: a student living away from home

Question

ٱلسَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

What is the ruling on Zaid who is a student that lives in a hostel which is 400 kilometres away from his home:

1. If Zaid travels back to his permanent home but stays less than 15 days, should he read qasr or full?

2. If he reads full with the jamat is it valid?

3. If he reads full separately and doesn't do qasr what is the ruling on it?

4. What if he does the Imamat and is in travelling state, how should he lead the prayer, only the 2 rakah or 4 rakah?

— Adil Hussain, Bangalore, India

Answer

Wa `Alaykum al-Salām

1. Zaid will perform his Ṣalāh in full without shortening (Qaṣr) when he reaches his home town/city (Waṭn Aṣlī) even if he is to stay there for less than fifteen days. This is because a person is no longer a traveller (musāfir) as soon as they enter their home town/city even if they don’t intend to stay there. It is mentioned in al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah:

إذا دخل المسافر مصره أتم الصلاة وان لم ينو الإقامة فيه

“When the traveller enters his town/city, then he will complete the prayer in full even if he doesn’t intend to stay therein.”

[al-Fatāwā al-Hindiyyah, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Bāb Ṣalāt al-Musāfir]

2. When Zaid is a resident (muqīm) praying the farḍ prayer in Jamā`ah, then regardless of whether he is praying behind an Imām who is a traveller or a resident, he must pray the Ṣalāh in full. It is in Bahār e Sharī`at:

ادا و قضا دونوں میں مقیم مسافر کی اقتدا کر سکتا ہے اور امام کے سلام کے بعد اپنی باقی دو رکعتیں پڑھ لے اور ان رکعتوں میں قراءت بالکل نہ کرے بلکہ بقدر فاتحہ چپ کھڑا رہے

“Both in the current and missed [prayer], a resident can pray behind a traveller and finish off his remaining two units (rak`ah) after the Imām has ended his prayer; and do not recite any Sūrah in these [remaining two] units, rather stand silently for the duration of reciting Fātiḥah.”

[Bahār e Sharī`at, volume 4, page 753]

When Zaid is a traveller praying the farḍ prayer in Jamā`ah, he must shorten his prayer behind an Imām who is also a traveller; otherwise he must pray the Ṣalāh in full if the Imām is a resident. It is in Bahār e Sharī`at:

مسافر نے مقیم کے پیچھے شروع کر کے فاسد کر دی تو اب دو ہی پڑھے گا یعنی جبکہ تنہا پڑھے یا کسی مسافر کی اقتدا کرے اور اگر پھر مقیم کی اقتدا کی تو چار پڑھے

“The traveller started [the prayer] behind a resident and then voided it, now he will only perform two units; meaning when he prays alone or behind a traveller, and if he again prays behind a resident, then he will perform four units.”

[Bahār e Sharī`at, volume 4, page 754]

3. When Zaid is a traveller, it is wājib for him to shorten the farḍ prayer of Ẓuhr, `Asr and `Ishā' from four units to two. If he purposely prays full whilst having performed the sitting (qa'dah) after the first two units, then his farḍ is fulfilled and the last two units will count as nafl, though he will be sinful for doing this. If he didn’t perform the sitting after the first two units then his farḍ is not fulfilled and all four units will be considered nafl as Ṣadr al-Sharī`ah, Muftī Amjad `Ali 'A`zmī states:

مسافر پر واجب ہے کہ نماز میں قصر کرے یعنی چار رکعت والے فرض کو دو پڑھے اس کے حق میں دو ہی رکعتیں پوری نماز ہے اور قصداً چار پڑھیں اور دو پر قعدہ کیا تو فرض ادا ہوگئے اور پچھلی دو رکعتیں نفل ہوئیں  مگر گنہگار و مستحق نار ہوا کہ واجب ترک کیا لہٰذا توبہ کرے اور دو رکعت پر قعدہ نہ کیا تو فرض ادا نہ ہوئے اور وہ نماز نفل ہوگئی

“It is necessary upon the traveller to shorten the prayer; meaning to perform two units for a four unit farḍ prayer as two units is the full prayer in his right. If he purposely performs four units and performs the sitting after two units, then the farḍ has been fulfilled and the last two units are nafl; however, he is sinful and deserving of the fire as he missed a wājib thus he must repent. If he didn’t perform the sitting after two units then the farḍ is not fulfilled and the prayer has become nafl.”

[Bahār e Sharī`at, volume 4, page 748]

4. As mentioned above, it is wājib upon the traveller to shorten the prayer, this applies even if the traveller is the Imām. Thus when Zaid is a traveller and the Imām, he will still shorten the four unit farḍ prayer to two.

It must be noted that for the correctness of praying behind an Imām (iqtidā’), the follower (muqtadī) must be aware of whether the Imām is a traveller or a resident either before or after the prayer; thus the Imām who is a traveller should announce that he is a traveller before commencing the prayer. Furthermore, it is best for him to announce that he is a traveller at the end of the prayer even if he already announced it at the start so that any latecomers become aware. It is in Bahār e Sharī`at:

یہ پہلے معلوم ہو چکا ہے کہ حکم صحت اقتدا کے لیے شرط ہے کہ امام کا مقیم یا مسافر ہونا معلوم ہو خواہ نماز شروع کرتے وقت معلوم ہوا ہو یا بعد میں، لہٰذا امام کو چاہیے کہ شروع کرتے وقت اپنا مسافر ہونا ظاہر کر دے اور شروع میں نہ کہا تو بعد نماز کہہ دے کہ اپنی نمازیں  پوری کر لو میں مسافر ہوں ۔ (درمختار) اور شروع میں  کہہ دیا ہے جب بھی بعد میں کہہ دے کہ جو لوگ اس وقت موجود نہ تھے انھیں بھی معلوم ہو جائے

“It is known from before that it is a condition for the correctness of praying behind an Imām that him being a traveller or a resident is known, regardless whether it is known at the time of commencing the prayer or after; thus the Imām should make apparent the fact that he is a traveller at the time of commencing the prayer. If he didn’t do so at the beginning, then after the prayer he should say: ‘complete your prayer, I am a traveller’ - (Durr e Mukhtār). If he stated it at the beginning, even then he should state it at the end so that those people that weren’t present then also become aware.”

[Bahār e Sharī`at, volume 4, page 754]

Allāh, the Exalted, knows best.

Faqīr Sohel al-Qādirī · (May he be forgiven) · Dhū al-Ḥijjah 6, 1445

Verified by Muftī Faizān al-Muṣṭafā al-Qādirī