I accompanied Ibn 'Umar on the road to Mecca and he led us in two rak'ahs at the noon prayer, then he went forward and we too went along with him to a place where he alighted, and he sat and we sat along with him, and he cast a glance to the side where he said prayer and he saw people standing and asked: What are they doing? I said: They are engaged in glorifying Allah, offering Sunnah prayer. He said: If I had done so I would have perfected my prayer; O my nephew! I accompanied the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) on a journey, and he made no addittion to two rak'ahs, till Allah called him. I accompanied Abu Bakr and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Umar and he made no addition to two rak'ahs till Allah caused him to die. I accompanied 'Uthman and he made no addition to two rak'ahs, till Allah caused him to die, and Allah has said:" There is a model pattern for you in the Messenger of Allah" (al-Qur'an, xxxiii. 21).
The Book of Prayer - Travellers
Sahih Muslim 689a
Hadith Commentary
This narration from Abdullah ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) establishes the Sunnah practice of shortening (qasr) the four-rak'ah prayers to two rak'ahs during travel. The companion's observation demonstrates that even pious predecessors maintained this practice consistently.
Ibn 'Umar's rhetorical statement "If I had done so I would have perfected my prayer" indicates that performing the full prayer while traveling would contradict the established Sunnah, even though voluntary prayers remain permissible. His emphasis on the continuity of this practice through the rightly-guided caliphs shows this was not a temporary concession but a permanent legislation.
The concluding reference to Quran 33:21 reinforces that the Prophet's actions constitute the ultimate example for Muslims. This hadith collectively proves that shortening prayers during travel is not merely permissible but represents the complete and preferred form of prayer in such circumstances according to the consensus of the early Muslim community.