Travel Prayer- The Traveler Prayer Complete Guide

Travel prayer is the salah of the traveler in Islam. It is offerd when Muslims are set on a journey. A person is considered as a traveller when he is out of his home city, the prayer for travel is considered in such cases.

Travel Prayer Meaning

The “Qasr prayer” or traveler's prayer is also known as “Salat-ul-Musafir” which means “The Prayer of the Traveler”. So, the literal meaning is that it is prescribed for those Muslims who are traveling. Prayer while travelling has a proper method of offering it

Islamic Travel Prayer in the Light of the Quran

So, through traveler's prayer, Allah has offered a solution for the travellers. It is advised to Muslims to pray the half prayer while travelling.As Allah says in Quran regarding travel prayer:

In Surah Nisa, Allah says:

﴿وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُوا لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا﴾

(Surah Al-Nisaa: 101)

And when you travel in the land, it is not a sin for you to offer some prayers in short order, if you fear that the disbelievers will harm you. Indeed, the disbelievers are your open enemies.

A Travel Prayer in the Light of Hadith

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) has explained the method and circumstances behind the traveling prayer.His teachings have elaborated the flexible ways of praying during travel days. The relevant hadith is given below:

" عن ابن عباس قال: إن الله فرض الصلاة على لسان نبيكم صلى الله عليه وسلم على المسافر ركعتين، وعلى المقيم أربعاً، وفى الخوف ركعةً". صحيح مسلم  (2 / 143)

Thus, there is a hadith in Sahih Muslim: Hazrat Abdullah bin Abbas, may God be pleased with him, says that Allah, may God bless him and grant him peace, made four rak'ahs obligatory for your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the state of verbal Iqamah and two rak'ahs while traveling.

" وابن عمر قالا: سن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم صلاة السفر ركعتين، وهما تمام غير قصر، والوتر في السفر سنة". سنن ابن ماجة  (2 / 263)

And it is in Sunan Ibn Majah: Hazrat Abdullah bin Umar (RA) says that the Prophet (PBUH) prescribed two rak'ahs for traveling prayers and they are not incomplete.

" قال : حدثني أبي أنه سمع ابن عمر يقول: صحبت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فكان لايزيد في السفر على ركعتين وأبا بكر وعمر وعثمان كذلك رضى الله عنهم". صحيح البخاري (2 / 57)

Also, there is a hadith from him in Sahih Bukhari, he says: I was traveling with the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) never prayed more than two rak'ahs (obligatory prayer while traveling), Hazrat Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman (RA) used to do the same.

"عن يعلى بن أمية قال: قلت لعمر بن الخطاب: { ليس عليكم جناح أن تقصروا من الصلاة إن خفتم أن يفتنكم الذين كفروا}، فقد أمن الناس؟ فقال: عجبت مما عجبت منه، فسألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن ذلك. فقال: « صدقة تصدق الله بها عليكم، فاقبلوا صدقته »". فقط واللہ اعلم صحيح مسلم(2 / 143)

And it is in Sahih Muslim that Hazrat Ya'li bin Umayyah (RA) says: I asked Hazrat Umar (RA) that God Almighty says: Shorten the prayer if you fear temptation from the disbelievers, now the people are in a state of peace. There is no fear. Hazrat Umar (RA) said: I also had this doubt, so I asked the Prophet (PBUH) about it.

Condition of Offering the Prayer for Travelers

There are some Qasr prayer rules for offering prayers during a voyage. These conditions must be fulfilled for offering the Qasr prayer. Otherwise, the journey will not be considered as traveling.

Ruling on Qasr Salah regarding the Three Important Conditions

Let us consider some common Qasr conditions and their respective Shariah rulings on how to perform them:

What is the minimum distance one must travel from their home for Qasr to be required?

Qasr Salah is obligatory after traveling a distance of 77.25 km or more.

What are the minimum and maximum durations of stay at a destination for which Qasr applies?

Qasr Salah is obligatory if staying less than 15 days; if staying more than 15 days, the full Salah must be performed.

If the traveler has traveled a long distance and the intention of staying is less than 15 days, then it is necessary to perform Qasr prayer no matter how much time has passed, provided that he does not intend to stay for 15 days, if the intention is to stay for fifteen days or more. If that is the case, then the whole prayer must be offered, it will not be permissible to be shorten it.

While the Fardh Salah consists of 2 Rakahs, do we need to perform all the Rakahs for Sunnah prayers as well?

Yes, Qasr does not apply to Sunnah prayers; they should be completed in full.

Regardless of whether it is the state of travel or the state of congregation (Iqamat), in any case, the ruling of the Sunnahs is that they are Sunnahs, that is, they are not obligatory like fard or obligatory prayers, and the ruling of shortening in the state of travel is only in the obligatory prayers of four rak'ahs. Apart from this, there is no shortness in the prayers

That is, when the Sunan and Nafals are recited while traveling, they will be recited in their entirety, however, the detail of the ruling regarding reciting the Sunnahs while traveling is that if the journey is ongoing and in a hurry, or if there is fear of leaving the vehicle, or if the companions are having trouble, or fear. If so, then only the performance of the Fardh (obligatory prayer) is sufficient, and it is permissible to leave out the rest of the sunnahs except the Fajr sunnahs,

However, the importance of the sunnahs of Fajr is more, so they will also be performed along with the Fardh of Fajr. And if the journey continues and if you stop at a place for prayer and you are not in a hurry and there is peace, then reciting the Sunnah is better and preferable. However, even in this case, the order of the Sunnah is not obligatory, but it is preferable to perform it.

In the same way, if the traveler is staying in a city or town, even if the stay is less than fifteen days, then he should read the Sunnahs according to the common practice.

Qasr Prayer While Traveling

Salat-ul-Musafir is also known as Qasr prayer. Praying when traveling helps eliminate the challenges faced by travelers. The Qasr prayer is a practice of shortening the prayer. A regular 4 rakat prayer is shortened to two rakahs of prayer. Qasr is applied to Duhur, Asr, and Isha prayers. Fajr and Maghrib prayer remains unchanged.

Conditions for Qasr Prayer While Traveling

Must be traveling a minimum distance (approximately 77.25 km)

MAKE Intention (niyyah) to be in the state of travel for 15 days or less.

Cannot shorten Maghrib (3 rakats) or Fajr (2 rakats)

Table for the Sake of Travelers

In every Qasr prayer, the four faraz rakats in prayer are shortened into two rakats. The rakats for the sunnah nafil and witr will remain the same. Only the obligatory prayers are reduced in half.

Important Note:

1.During travel or when you haven’t reached the destination yet, you need only pray Fardh rakat of a prayer

2.Upon reaching destination (when you are in a city, town, or village), it is preferrable to perform Sunnah rakats alongwith Fardh

How to Pray While Traveling?

Make an intention to perform salah as a traveler. During travel, the four unit prayers of Duhur, Asr and Isha are shortened into two rakats in namaz . Another way to offer traveller’s prayer is to offer the two prayers in a combined way. The travellers can also pray while sitting in the vehicle. The following table clarifies the method of praying during travel:

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Final words

Salat-ul-Musafir is the prayer performed by the travelers. It is a flexible alternative of Islam to its believers by combining prayers while traveling. The Qasr prayer shows that spiritual obligations remain mandatory. The salat when travelling helps Muslims to fulfill their religious obligations during travel.