Travellers Salaah
Lesson Twenty
THE TRAVELERS NAMAZ ( QASR)
The minimum period of travel whereby certain legal rulings take effect, is three days on (camel), which is approx. 57 ½ miles.
Who needs to shorten their prayers (qasr)?
If a person intends to travel a distance of 57 ½ miles and will stay at the destination for 14 days or less, then they will have to do Qasr of their namaz.
As soon as one leaves the limits of the city, one becomes a legal traveler and starts to shorten their prayers (qasr).
One starts to offer the full namaz as normal, once they have returned to their home town/city.
Who cannot shorten their prayers even when traveling?
If a person intends to travel a distance of 57 ½ miles and will stay at the destination for 15 days or more, then they will have to pray their namaz as normal and there is no Qasr of their namaz.
How to shorten the prayers (Qasr)?
It becomes wajib to shorten the (fardh) prayer and pray each fardh namaz as qasr.
So Fajr will remain as 2 Fardh, Zohr will become 2 fardh from the normal 4 fardh, Asr will become 2 fardh from the normal 4 fardh, maghrib will remain as 3 fardh, Esha will become 2 fardh from the normal 4 fardh.
The sunnah and nafl prayers will be prayed as normal with no shortening. If one is in the state of ease and rest when traveling, then the sunnah should not be left. If one is not able to pray the sunnah, due to difficulty and circumstances in travel- then praying the Fardh and Wajib is still an absolute must, and the sunnah and nafl can be left.
Other rulings that take effect for the traveler:
1) One has the option of not fasting (and making up later), if outside the city limits before Fajr.
2) The time period of keeping on khuffs, extends from one day to three days.
3) It is no longer mandatory to attend the Juma or Eid prayer. (If one cannot attend Jum’a, zohr namaz must be read instead).
4) It is no longer wajib for a person to perfom sacrifice of an animal of the Eid al- Adha.
5) It is forbidden for a woman to travel past this distance. (57 ½) miles alone, as she must be accompanied by her husband or a man of unmarriageable kin (mahram).
Praying behind the Imam when traveling
If a traveler is praying behind a resident Imam, then the traveler needs to complete the namaz as normal and no qasr will apply.
The resident praying behind the traveler
If the imam is a traveler and a resident is praying behind, the resident needs to stand up after the Imam says salam (if there are remaining rakats), and complete the namaz without praying anything in the Qiyaam position- just stand for the time it takes to pray surah Fatiha and complete the rest of the namaz as normal.