The Book on Traveling

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Abd al-Wahhab ibn Abd al-Hakam al-Warraq al-Baghdadi told us: Yahya ibn Sulaym told us, from Ubaydullah, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who said: I traveled with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and with Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman. They would pray the noon and afternoon prayers as two units each, and would perform no prayers before or after them. Abdullah added: If I were to pray voluntary prayers before or after them, I would pray them in full. Reports on this subject are also related from Umar, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Anas, Imran ibn Husayn, and Aishah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Umar is hasan gharib; we know this version only through Yahya ibn Sulaym. Muhammad ibn Ismail said that this hadith is also narrated from Ubaydullah ibn Umar, from a man of the family of Suraqah, from Abdullah ibn Umar. Abu Isa said: It is also narrated from Atiyyah al-Awfi, from Ibn Umar, that the Prophet used to perform voluntary prayers before and after the obligatory prayer while traveling. It is soundly established that the Prophet shortened prayers while traveling, as did Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman during the early part of his caliphate. Most scholars among the Companions and others acted upon this. It is narrated that Aishah would pray in full while traveling. The practice follows what is narrated from the Prophet and his Companions; this is the view of al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Al-Shafii, however, said that shortening the prayer while traveling is a concession, so if one prays in full, it is valid.

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Ahmad ibn Mani told us: Hushaym informed us: Ali ibn Zayd ibn Judan al-Qurashi informed us, from Abu Nadrah, who said: Imran ibn Husayn was asked about a traveler prayer. He replied: I performed Hajj with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he prayed two units. I performed Hajj with Abu Bakr and he prayed two units, and with Umar and he prayed two units. I also performed Hajj with Uthman for six or eight years of his caliphate, and he prayed two units. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Anas ibn Malik said: We prayed four units of Zuhr with the Prophet in Madinah, and two units of Asr at Dhu al-Hulayfah. Abu Isa said: This hadith is sahih.

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Ibn Abbas narrated: The Prophet traveled from Madinah to Makkah, fearing none but Allah, the Lord of all worlds, and prayed two units. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Yahya ibn Abi Ishaq al-Hadrami narrated that Anas ibn Malik said: We traveled with the Prophet from Madinah to Makkah, and he prayed two units. I asked Anas, How long did the Messenger of Allah stay in Makkah? He said, Ten days. Reports on this topic are also narrated from Ibn Abbas and Jabir. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Anas is hasan sahih. It is also reported from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet stayed for nineteen days on one of his journeys and prayed two units. Ibn Abbas said: When we stayed for a period up to nineteen days, we prayed two units; if we stayed longer, we completed the prayer. It is reported from Ali that he said: Whoever stays ten days completes the prayer. It is reported from Ibn Umar that he said: Whoever stays fifteen days completes the prayer; another report from him says twelve days. It is reported from Said ibn al-Musayyib that he said: If someone stays four days, he prays four units. Qatadah and Ata al-Khurasani transmitted this from him, while Dawud ibn Abi Hind transmitted a contrary view. Later, the people of knowledge differed on this. Sufyan al-Thawri and the people of Kufah set the period at fifteen days and said that one who intends to stay fifteen days completes the prayer. Al-Awzai said that one who intends to stay twelve days completes the prayer. Malik ibn Anas, al-Shafii, and Ahmad said that one who intends to stay four days completes the prayer. Ishaq considered the hadith of Ibn Abbas the strongest position, because Ibn Abbas narrated it from the Prophet and then interpreted it after the Prophet as meaning that one who intends to stay nineteen days completes the prayer. The people of knowledge agreed that a traveler may shorten the prayer as long as he does not intend to settle, even if years pass.

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Ibn Abbas said: The Messenger of Allah traveled and prayed two units at a time for nineteen days. Ibn Abbas said: When we stayed for up to nineteen days, we prayed two units at a time; if we stayed longer, we prayed four. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Al-Bara ibn Azib said: I accompanied the Messenger of Allah on eighteen journeys, and I never saw him omit the two units prayed when the sun had passed its zenith before Zuhr. A report on this topic is also narrated from Ibn Umar. Abu Isa said: The hadith of al-Bara is gharib. I asked Muhammad about it; he knew it only through the narration of al-Layth ibn Sad, did not know the name of Abu Busrah al-Ghifari, and considered the report hasan. It is reported from Ibn Umar that the Prophet did not perform voluntary prayers during travel before or after the obligatory prayer. It is also reported from him, from the Prophet, that he did perform voluntary prayers while traveling. After the Prophet, the people of knowledge differed. Some of the Companions considered it permissible for a person to perform voluntary prayers while traveling; this is the view of Ahmad and Ishaq. A group of the people of knowledge held that one should not pray voluntary prayers before or after the obligatory prayers while traveling. Not performing voluntary prayers during travel means accepting the concession; whoever performs them has great merit in doing so. Most of the people of knowledge prefer voluntary prayer while traveling.

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Ibn Umar said: I prayed Zuhr with the Prophet while traveling: two units, followed by two more units. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan. Ibn Abi Layla also transmitted it from Atiyyah and Nafi, from Ibn Umar.

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Ibn Umar said: I prayed with the Prophet both while resident and while traveling. When resident, I prayed Zuhr with him as four units, followed by two units; while traveling, I prayed Zuhr with him as two units, followed by two, and Asr as two units, and he prayed nothing after it. Maghrib was the same at home and while traveling: three units, never shortened at home or on a journey. It is the witr of the daytime, and two units follow it. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan. I heard Muhammad say: Ibn Abi Layla has not transmitted any hadith more remarkable to me than this one, yet I do not transmit anything from him.

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Qutaybah ibn Said told us: al-Layth ibn Sad told us, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Abu al-Tufayl, namely Amir ibn Wathilah, from Muadh ibn Jabal, that during the expedition to Tabuk, when the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, set out before the sun passed its zenith, he delayed the noon prayer and joined it with the afternoon prayer, praying them together. If he set out after the sun had passed its zenith, he brought the afternoon prayer forward to the time of the noon prayer, prayed both together, then continued on. If he set out before sunset, he delayed the sunset prayer until he prayed it together with the night prayer. If he set out after sunset, he brought the night prayer forward and prayed it together with the sunset prayer. Reports on this subject are also related from Ali, Ibn Umar, Anas, Abdullah ibn Amr, Aishah, Ibn Abbas, Usamah ibn Zayd, and Jabir ibn Abdullah. Abu Isa said: The sound version is the report from Usamah. Ali ibn al-Madini narrated this hadith from Ahmad ibn Hanbal, from Qutaybah.

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Abd al-Samad ibn Sulayman told us: Zakariyya al-Lulu told us: Abu Bakr al-Ayn told us: Ali ibn al-Madini told us: Ahmad ibn Hanbal told us: Qutaybah told us this hadith, meaning the hadith of Muadh. The hadith of Muadh is hasan gharib. Qutaybah alone transmitted it; we know no one besides him who narrated it from al-Layth. The report of al-Layth, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, from Abu al-Tufayl, from Muadh, is gharib. The well-known hadith of Muadh among scholars is the report of Abu al-Zubayr, from Abu al-Tufayl, from Muadh: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, joined the noon and afternoon prayers, and the sunset and night prayers, during the expedition to Tabuk. Qurrah ibn Khalid, Sufyan al-Thawri, Malik, and more than one other narrator transmitted it from Abu al-Zubayr al-Makki. Al-Shafii follows this hadith. Ahmad and Ishaq say there is no harm in joining two prayers while traveling within the time of either one.

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Hannad ibn al-Sari told us: Abdah ibn Sulayman told us, from Ubaydullah ibn Umar, from Nafi, from Ibn Umar, who said: One of his relatives was urgently summoned, so he hastened on the journey and delayed the sunset prayer until the twilight had disappeared. Then he dismounted and joined the two prayers. He informed them that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to do this when he was pressed to travel quickly. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih. The hadith of al-Layth, from Yazid ibn Abi Habib, is hasan sahih.

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Yahya ibn Musa told us: Abd al-Razzaq told us: Mamar informed us, from al-Zuhri, from Abbad ibn Tamim, from his paternal uncle, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, went out with the people to pray for rain. He led them in two units, reciting aloud in both, turned his cloak inside out, raised his hands in supplication, and faced the qiblah. Reports on this subject are also related from Ibn Abbas, Abu Hurayrah, Anas, and Abi al-Lahm. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Abdullah ibn Zayd is hasan sahih. Scholars acted upon this, as did al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. The paternal uncle of Abbad ibn Tamim was Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Asim al-Mazini.

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Qutaybah told us: al-Layth ibn Sad told us, from Khalid ibn Yazid, from Said ibn Abi Hilal, from Yazid ibn Abdullah, from Umayr, the freedman of Abi al-Lahm, from Abi al-Lahm, that he saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, at the Stones of al-Zayt praying for rain with his hands raised and palms facing upward as he supplicated. Abu Isa said: This is how Qutaybah narrated this hadith, from Abi al-Lahm. We know only this one hadith from Abi al-Lahm from the Prophet. Umayr, the freedman of Abi al-Lahm, narrated hadiths from the Prophet and was a Companion.

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Qutaybah told us: Hatim ibn Ismail told us, from Hisham ibn Ishaq, namely Ibn Abdullah ibn Kinanah, from his father, who said: al-Walid ibn Uqbah, governor of Medina, sent me to Ibn Abbas to ask him about the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, praying for rain. I went to him, and he said: The Messenger of Allah went out in worn clothes, humbly and imploringly, until he reached the prayer place. He did not deliver a sermon like the sermon you give; rather, he continued in supplication, earnest entreaty, and saying takbir, and he prayed two units as he used to pray the Eid prayer. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih.

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Mahmud ibn Ghaylan told us: Waki told us, from Sufyan, from Hisham ibn Ishaq ibn Abdullah ibn Kinanah, from his father, who narrated a similar report, adding that the Prophet went out in a humble, reverent state. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih. This is the view of al-Shafii, who said that the prayer for rain is performed like the two Eid prayers: seven takbirs in the first unit and five in the second, citing the hadith of Ibn Abbas. It is narrated from Malik ibn Anas that he said no extra takbirs are said in the prayer for rain as they are in the Eid prayers. Al-Numan Abu Hanifah said that the prayer for rain is not performed and that he would not instruct people to turn their cloaks inside out; rather, they should supplicate together and then return. Abu Isa said: He opposed the Sunnah.

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Muhammad ibn Bashshar told us: Yahya ibn Said told us, from Sufyan, from Habib ibn Abi Thabit, from Tawus, from Ibn Abbas, from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he prayed during a solar eclipse: he recited, bowed, recited, bowed, recited, and bowed three times, then prostrated twice. He did the same in the other unit. Reports on this subject are also related from Ali, Aishah, Abdullah ibn Amr, al-Numan ibn Bashir, al-Mughirah ibn Shubah, Abu Masud, Abu Bakrah, Samurah, Abu Musa al-Ashari, Ibn Masud, Asma bint Abi Bakr al-Siddiq, Ibn Umar, Qabisah al-Hilali, Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abd al-Rahman ibn Samurah, and Ubayy ibn Kab. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Ibn Abbas is hasan sahih. It is also narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Prophet prayed during an eclipse with four bowings and four prostrations. This is the view of al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq. Scholars differed about recitation in the eclipse prayer. Some held that recitation should be silent during a daytime eclipse; others held that it should be aloud, as in the Eid and Friday prayers. Malik, Ahmad, and Ishaq held that it should be aloud, while al-Shafii said it should not. Both forms of prayer are soundly narrated from the Prophet: he prayed with four bowings and four prostrations, and it is also soundly narrated that he prayed with six bowings and four prostrations. Scholars consider both permissible according to the length of the eclipse: if it lasts long, six bowings with four prostrations are permissible; if one prays with four bowings and four prostrations while lengthening the recitation, that too is permissible. Our scholars hold that the eclipse prayer for both solar and lunar eclipses should be performed in congregation.

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Muhammad ibn Abd al-Malik ibn Abi al-Shawarib told us: Yazid ibn Zuray informed us: Mamar told us, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from Aishah, who said: During the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, the sun was eclipsed. The Messenger of Allah led the people in prayer, recited at length, bowed at length, then raised his head and recited again, though for a shorter time than the first recitation. He then bowed again, though for a shorter time than the first bowing, raised his head, and prostrated. He did the same in the second unit. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih. Al-Shafii, Ahmad, and Ishaq follow this hadith and hold that the eclipse prayer consists of four bowings and four prostrations. Al-Shafii said: In the first unit, one recites the Opening Chapter and approximately Surat al-Baqarah silently if it is daytime, then bows for a length similar to the recitation. One rises with a takbir, stands upright, and recites the Opening Chapter and approximately Surat Al Imran. Then one bows for a length similar to the recitation, rises, and says, “Allah hears whoever praises Him.” Then one performs two complete prostrations, each lasting about as long as the bowing. One then stands and recites the Opening Chapter and approximately Surat al-Nisa, bows for a length similar to the recitation, rises with a takbir and stands upright, then recites approximately Surat al-Maidah and bows for a length similar to the recitation. One then rises and says, “Allah hears whoever praises Him,” performs two prostrations, recites the testimony of faith, and ends the prayer with the greeting of peace.

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Mahmud ibn Ghaylan told us: Waki told us: Sufyan told us, from al-Aswad ibn Qays, from Thalabah ibn Abbad, from Samurah ibn Jundub, who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, led us in an eclipse prayer, and we could not hear his voice. A report on this subject is also related from Aishah. Abu Isa said: The hadith of Samurah is hasan sahih. Some scholars adopted this view, including al-Shafii.

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Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Aban told us: Ibrahim ibn Sadaqah told us, from Sufyan ibn Husayn, from al-Zuhri, from Urwah, from Aishah, that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, performed the eclipse prayer and recited aloud in it. Abu Isa said: This hadith is hasan sahih. Abu Ishaq al-Fazari narrated a similar report from Sufyan ibn Husayn. Malik ibn Anas, Ahmad, and Ishaq follow this hadith.