Length of Time of Travel to Shorten the Prayer
Question 4: We travel to United States of America in order to stay in the training session on the aviation there, and our stay may continue for three months or more, so do we shorten our prayer throughout that period? And when is the completion of the prayer obligatory upon us?
Answer 4: Yes (you shorten the prayer), as long as you are there in the United States or other than it from the countries (while) you are travelers until you return to your homeland meaning to your country, which you live in, (whether) the period became long or it became short; because there is not in the Book (of Allah) nor in the Sunnah that which points to specification of the period, by which the ruling of the traveler is cut off, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam travelled few travels (i.e. few times), and he used to shorten (the prayer) until he returned to Madinah, and he was not restricted by a period.
He stayed in Tabook for twenty days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[i], and he stayed in Makkah in the year of the Open (Victory of Makkah) for nineteen days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[ii], and he stayed in Makkah in the year of the farewell Hajj for ten days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[iii], and a letter didn't even come from him (where) he said in it: Whoever intends to stay such, then he should complete (the prayers), even if the completion was obligatory in the likes of these travels then the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam would have explained it due to His Exalted saying, "O Messenger (Muhammad sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam)! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind." [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 67]
And those who act in accordance with four days or five days or nineteen days or that which is similar to that, they did not act in accordance to that which makes less burdensome and meets all requirements. For example, those who say the period by which the ruling of travel ends is four days seek information from that the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala alihi wa sallam stayed in Makkah in the year of Farewell Hajj before he went out to Minaa, he came on the forth day of Dthee Al-Hijjah and went out on the 8th day to Minaa, but this, here is no evidence in it; because Anas radi Allahu anhu was asked: how many (days) the Prophet sallallahu alyhe wa sallam stayed in Makkah in the year of Farewell Hajj? So he said, we stayed in it for ten (days).
He radi Allahu anhu spoke the truth; because going out of the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam to Minaa on the 8th day doesn't mean that he was done from Makkah but he is remaining in it, and the saying of some of them that when he went out to Minaa, he started the traveling to Madinah, a strange saying, no one says it except with irritations and controversies in order to be freed, otherwise, it is well-known that the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam only came to perform Hajj, and the hajj is intended, then how it is said that he started to leave when he went to the Hajj. The scholars differed in this issue on more than 20 sayings, and the return at the dispute is to the Book of Allah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala alihi wa sallam, and there is nothing in them that points to the specification of the period with anything by which the ruling of travel ends.
However, these who said that the ruling of the travel ends if he intended for than four days, they made this a traveler from one aspect not a traveler from (another) aspect, for instance, in the Jumua'ah (prayer) they say it is not correct (that) he is an Imaam in the Jumua'ah; because he is a traveler, and he does not look from the stipulated number if we said with the condition of number in the Jumua'ah (prayer); because he is a traveler, and the legislations of Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted are equable, does not contradict each other, and the summary is that we lengthened in answering this question (as) elimination to the doubt until the matter becomes clear.
[i] Abu Dawud Reported it from the Hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah radi Allahu anhuma in the chapter, "If he resides in the land of the enemy, he should shorten the prayer" Number # 1230
[ii] Al-Bukhari reported it from the Hadith of Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhuma in the Book of Shortening of the prayer - chapter what came in the shortening (of the Prayer), Number # 1080
[iii] Al-Bukhari reported it from the Hadith of Anas bin Malik radi Allahu anhu in the Book of Shortening of the prayer - chapter what came in the shortening (of the Prayer), Number # 1081
Taken from the Book of Shaykh Muhammad Saleh al-Uthaymeen, “I3laam al-Musafirin bi-ba3del a3daab wa ahkames safar…”
Translated by Nasrin As-Salafiyah
Question 4: We travel to United States of America in order to stay in the training session on the aviation there, and our stay may continue for three months or more, so do we shorten our prayer throughout that period? And when is the completion of the prayer obligatory upon us?
Answer 4: Yes (you shorten the prayer), as long as you are there in the United States or other than it from the countries (while) you are travelers until you return to your homeland meaning to your country, which you live in, (whether) the period became long or it became short; because there is not in the Book (of Allah) nor in the Sunnah that which points to specification of the period, by which the ruling of the traveler is cut off, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam travelled few travels (i.e. few times), and he used to shorten (the prayer) until he returned to Madinah, and he was not restricted by a period.
He stayed in Tabook for twenty days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[i], and he stayed in Makkah in the year of the Open (Victory of Makkah) for nineteen days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[ii], and he stayed in Makkah in the year of the farewell Hajj for ten days, (during which) he shorted the prayer[iii], and a letter didn't even come from him (where) he said in it: Whoever intends to stay such, then he should complete (the prayers), even if the completion was obligatory in the likes of these travels then the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam would have explained it due to His Exalted saying, "O Messenger (Muhammad sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam)! Proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. Allâh will protect you from mankind." [Surah Al-Ma'idah: 67]
And those who act in accordance with four days or five days or nineteen days or that which is similar to that, they did not act in accordance to that which makes less burdensome and meets all requirements. For example, those who say the period by which the ruling of travel ends is four days seek information from that the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala alihi wa sallam stayed in Makkah in the year of Farewell Hajj before he went out to Minaa, he came on the forth day of Dthee Al-Hijjah and went out on the 8th day to Minaa, but this, here is no evidence in it; because Anas radi Allahu anhu was asked: how many (days) the Prophet sallallahu alyhe wa sallam stayed in Makkah in the year of Farewell Hajj? So he said, we stayed in it for ten (days).
He radi Allahu anhu spoke the truth; because going out of the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam to Minaa on the 8th day doesn't mean that he was done from Makkah but he is remaining in it, and the saying of some of them that when he went out to Minaa, he started the traveling to Madinah, a strange saying, no one says it except with irritations and controversies in order to be freed, otherwise, it is well-known that the Prophet sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala aalihi wa sallam only came to perform Hajj, and the hajj is intended, then how it is said that he started to leave when he went to the Hajj. The scholars differed in this issue on more than 20 sayings, and the return at the dispute is to the Book of Allah and to the Sunnah of His Messenger sallallahu alayhe wa 'ala alihi wa sallam, and there is nothing in them that points to the specification of the period with anything by which the ruling of travel ends.
However, these who said that the ruling of the travel ends if he intended for than four days, they made this a traveler from one aspect not a traveler from (another) aspect, for instance, in the Jumua'ah (prayer) they say it is not correct (that) he is an Imaam in the Jumua'ah; because he is a traveler, and he does not look from the stipulated number if we said with the condition of number in the Jumua'ah (prayer); because he is a traveler, and the legislations of Allah, the Blessed and the Exalted are equable, does not contradict each other, and the summary is that we lengthened in answering this question (as) elimination to the doubt until the matter becomes clear.
[i] Abu Dawud Reported it from the Hadith of Jabir bin Abdullah radi Allahu anhuma in the chapter, "If he resides in the land of the enemy, he should shorten the prayer" Number # 1230
[ii] Al-Bukhari reported it from the Hadith of Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhuma in the Book of Shortening of the prayer - chapter what came in the shortening (of the Prayer), Number # 1080
[iii] Al-Bukhari reported it from the Hadith of Anas bin Malik radi Allahu anhu in the Book of Shortening of the prayer - chapter what came in the shortening (of the Prayer), Number # 1081
Taken from the Book of Shaykh Muhammad Saleh al-Uthaymeen, “I3laam al-Musafirin bi-ba3del a3daab wa ahkames safar…”
Translated by Nasrin As-Salafiyah
