A gift from Allah

Travel is tiring. You are moving, you are tired, and you are often not near a masjid. So Allah made salah lighter for the traveler. This is called qasr (shortening).

Allah says: when you travel in the land, there is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer¹. The same verse also mentions fear of an enemy.

Years later, a man said to Umar: the verse talks about fear, but now we are safe. Why do we still shorten? Umar said: I wondered the same thing, so I asked Nabi ﷺ. He said: it is a charity Allah has given you, so accept His charity².

So shortening is not only for war or danger. It is a gift for every traveler, even on a safe and easy trip.

Aisha said that when salah was first made a duty, every prayer was two rakat (units of prayer). Later, the prayer at home was made longer, and the travel prayer stayed as it was³.

Nabi ﷺ always shortened on his journeys. Ibn Umar traveled with him and said: he never prayed more than two rakat on a journey, and Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman did the same⁴.

There is extra good news too. Nabi ﷺ said: when a person falls sick or travels, Allah writes for them the same reward for the good deeds they used to do at home when they were well⁵. So if travel stops you from your usual extra prayers, your reward does not stop.

Who counts as a traveler

Not every trip counts. A drive to the shops in the next town is not travel. Scholars set a distance for a trip that counts.

So in practice, all four schools are close: roughly 80 km or more, one way. Some scholars, like Ibn Taymiyyah, say there is no fixed number: whatever people normally call a journey counts. Most people follow the distance, because it is clear.

A few points

• The distance is the whole trip one way, from your town to where you are going. It is not counted from your front door.
• It does not matter how you travel: by car, plane, train or on foot. A one-hour flight of 500 km is still travel.
• It does not matter if the trip is easy. Shortening is a gift for the trip, not a reward for being tired.
• The trip should be for something allowed. Most scholars say a trip made for a sinful purpose does not get these gifts. Hanafis say any traveler may shorten.

When shortening starts and ends

It starts when you leave your town. Once you have passed the last houses of your town or city, you can shorten. You cannot shorten at home before you set off, even if your bags are packed.

Anas said: Nabi ﷺ prayed Dhuhr as four rakat in Madinah. Then he set off for Makkah, and prayed Asr as two rakat at Dhul-Hulayfah, a place just outside Madinah⁶.

It ends when you come back into your town. Once you are home, you pray in full again.

• Leaving after the prayer time began? Say Dhuhr time began while you were still at home, and you left before praying it. Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is say you may shorten it, because you are praying it as a traveler. Hanbalis say pray four, because it became due while you were still at home.
• Missed a prayer while traveling, and making it up at home? Hanafis and Malikis say make it up as two. Shafi'is and Hanbalis say pray it as four.
• Missed a prayer at home, and making it up on the trip? All agree: pray it as four.

How long you can stay and still shorten

Once you arrive, you are still a traveler for a while. But if you plan to stay a long time, you become like a resident, and you pray in full. The schools set different limits:

There are other views too. Ibn Abbas shortened for up to 19 days, because Nabi ﷺ once stayed 19 days and shortened⁷. Anas said they stayed in Makkah for ten days during the Farewell Hajj and shortened the whole time⁸.

If you do not know how long you will stay

Sometimes you do not know. You are waiting for a visa, a repair, or a meeting that keeps moving. You say: I will leave tomorrow, or the day after.

• Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis: keep shortening for as long as this goes on, even for months.
• Shafi'is: keep shortening for up to 18 days, then pray in full.

Shortening: which prayers and how

Only the four-rakat prayers are shortened. You pray them as two rakat.

You pray the two rakat just like Fajr: two rakat, sit for the tashahhud (the sitting prayer), then say salam.

Must you shorten?

• Hanafis: yes. For them shortening is wajib (required). Two rakat is the travel prayer, as Aisha said⁹. Praying four on purpose is wrong.
• Malikis: shortening is a strong sunnah (a practice of Nabi ﷺ that you should keep).
• Shafi'is and Hanbalis: shortening is better, but if you pray four, your prayer still counts. Uthman and Aisha sometimes prayed four on a journey¹⁰.

Whatever your school, shortening is what Nabi ﷺ did, so it is the best choice.

Combining two prayers

Combining is called jam'. It means you pray two prayers one after the other, in the time of one of them. Only these pairs can be joined:

• Dhuhr with Asr
• Maghrib with Isha

Fajr is never joined with anything. Asr is never joined with Maghrib.

Ibn Abbas said: Nabi ﷺ would join Dhuhr and Asr when he was on a journey, and he would join Maghrib and Isha¹¹. He did this especially when he was in a hurry to keep moving¹².

Early or late

• Early joining: you pray both in the time of the first. For example, Dhuhr and then Asr, both at Dhuhr time.
• Late joining: you pray both in the time of the second. For example, Maghrib and then Isha, both at Isha time.

Anas said: if Nabi ﷺ set off before midday, he would wait and pray Dhuhr with Asr at Asr time. If midday had already passed before he set off, he would pray Dhuhr and then ride¹³.

How to combine

• Pray the first prayer, then the second, in order: Dhuhr then Asr, Maghrib then Isha.
• One adhan is enough. Say the iqamah (the second call) before each prayer.
• Do not leave a long gap between them, and do not pray extra prayers in between. At Muzdalifah, Nabi ﷺ prayed Maghrib and Isha together and prayed nothing between them.
• You can shorten and combine together. So a traveler can pray Dhuhr as 2, then Asr as 2.

Where the schools differ

• Shafi'is and Hanbalis: a traveler may combine, early or late, whether moving or resting on the trip.
• Malikis: allow it, mainly while you are on the road and moving.
• Hanafis: do not combine. The only exceptions are at Hajj: Dhuhr with Asr at Arafah, and Maghrib with Isha at Muzdalifah. All Muslims agree on those two.

Hanafis do allow something close. You pray Dhuhr at the very end of its time, then Asr at the very start of its time. Each prayer is still in its own time, but they come one after the other. Every school accepts this, so it is a good choice when you are not sure.

The hadith of Ibn Abbas in Madinah

Ibn Abbas also said: Nabi ﷺ once joined Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, in Madinah, with no fear and no journey. When he was asked why, he said: so that his ummah would not be put in hardship¹⁴. In another report of the same hadith he says: with no fear and no rain.

Please read this hadith carefully. It does not mean you can join prayers every day for no reason. Scholars explain it in different ways:

• Many scholars say Nabi ﷺ prayed Dhuhr at the end of its time and Asr at the start of its time. One of the narrators said he thought the same¹⁵.
• Some scholars, mainly Hanbalis, say it shows you can join when there is a real need or hardship, like sickness, as long as it does not become a habit.

All schools agree: do not make joining a habit at home without a real reason.

Sunnah prayers on a journey

The regular sunnah prayers are the extra prayers you pray before or after the fard (required) prayers. On a journey, Nabi ﷺ usually left them out. Ibn Umar said: I traveled with Nabi ﷺ and he did not pray the extra prayers on the journey¹⁶. He also said: if I were going to pray them, I would rather have prayed the fard in full¹⁷.

But two prayers Nabi ﷺ kept even when traveling:

• The two rakat before Fajr. Aisha said he never left them¹⁸. Even on a journey when they all overslept, he prayed these two rakat first and then Fajr¹⁹.
• Witr, the odd-numbered prayer at night. He prayed it even on his camel²⁰.

Other voluntary prayers, like night prayer or Duha (the mid-morning prayer), are still good on a journey. You may pray any extra prayer you like. You just do not have to keep the regular sunnahs.

Praying on a plane, train, bus or car

Voluntary prayers

These are easy. Nabi ﷺ prayed voluntary prayers on his camel, facing whichever way it was going, and bowed with small movements of his head²⁷²⁸. So you can pray extra prayers in your seat, facing forward. Nod for ruku (bowing) and nod lower for sujud (prostration).

Fard prayers

The fard prayers are stricter. Ibn Umar said Nabi ﷺ prayed extra prayers on his camel, but not the fard²⁹. He would get down to pray them. So for a fard prayer:

• Plan first. Can you pray before you board, or after you land, still in time? Can you join two prayers? This is often the easiest way.
• If you must pray on board, face the qibla (the direction of the Kaaba) if you can. Many airlines show it on the seat screen, or use a compass app.
• Stand if you can. Many planes have space near the doors or galley. Ask the crew politely.
• If you cannot stand or face the qibla, because of the seatbelt sign or no space, pray in your seat as well as you can. Nod for ruku and sujud. Do not let the time pass.

Allah says: fear Allah as much as you are able³⁰. Some scholars, mainly Shafi'is, say that if you prayed a fard without standing or without facing the qibla, you should repeat it later when you can. Others say there is no need. Follow your school or a scholar you trust.

Wudu on a plane

Make wudu before you board, and try to keep it. If you need to make it again, you can use the small sink carefully. If you wear leather socks or suitable socks, you can wipe over them (see the lesson on wiping over socks). If there is truly no water you can use, see the lesson on tayammum.

Praying behind a local imam

If you, a traveler, pray in congregation behind an imam who is not traveling, you pray four rakat with him. You follow the imam. All four schools agree.

Ibn Umar did this. When he prayed with the imam at Mina, he prayed four. When he prayed alone, he prayed two³¹. Ibn Abbas was asked how to pray in Makkah when not praying with the imam. He said: two rakat, the sunnah of Abul-Qasim ﷺ³².

• If you join late, you still complete four, like the imam.
• If the imam is a traveler and you are not, he prays two and says salam. You stand up and finish your four on your own. It is kind for him to tell people before: I am a traveler, so complete your prayer.
• A group of travelers can pray together with one of them as imam, and shorten.

Long flights and time zones

On a long flight, you can pass through several time zones. Here is the simple rule: pray by the sky where you are, not by the clock at home or where you are going.

• Look at the sky or the flight map. Is it dawn, midday, afternoon, sunset or night outside? That tells you which prayer is due.
• Flying west (for example from Europe to America), the day gets longer. You may have a very long afternoon. Pray Asr in its time and wait for the real sunset for Maghrib.
• Flying east, the day gets shorter. Prayer times come quickly, one after the other. Joining Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, helps a lot here.
• Not sure? Many prayer apps can show times for your current position. You can also use the times of the place you just left, and be careful not to pray before a time has started.

Before a long flight, look at the prayer times along the route. Decide which prayers you can pray before boarding, which after landing, and which you may need to pray on board.

People who are always on the road

Some people travel almost every day: truck drivers, delivery drivers, pilots, flight crew, sailors and sales staff.

• Most scholars: when they are more than the travel distance away from their home town, they are travelers. They can shorten, and where their school allows, combine.
• Hanbalis make one exception: someone who has no home but the road, like a sailor whose family lives with him on the ship. He is always at home, so he prays in full. A driver who has a home and family to return to is a normal traveler.
• When they are back in their home town, they pray in full, even if only for one night.

For drivers, the best way is to plan stops around the prayer times. Joining Dhuhr with Asr at one stop, and Maghrib with Isha at another, can make a long day much easier.

Common questions

I commute 90 km to work every day. Do I shorten at work?

Most scholars say yes, a trip of that distance counts as travel, even if it is daily. Some scholars say a daily commute is part of normal life and is not travel. If you are unsure, praying in full at work is valid in the Shafi'i and Hanbali schools. Hanafis would say you must shorten. Ask a scholar you trust.

I am going home to visit my parents for a month. Do I shorten there?

If you have moved away and live somewhere else now, your parents' town is not your home anymore. Then the normal limits apply: a month is longer than both 4 and 15 days, so you pray in full. If you still treat it as your home (you plan to move back, or you keep a home there), most scholars say pray in full from the moment you arrive.

I am a student abroad for a year. Am I a traveler?

No. You plan to stay far longer than 15 days, so you pray in full. On trips from your university city of 80 km or more, you can shorten.

I forgot I was a traveler and prayed four.

Shafi'is and Hanbalis say your prayer counts. For Hanafis, if you sat for the tashahhud after the second rakat, the first two count as the fard and the last two count as extra. If you did not sit there, repeat it as two.

I am traveling with my children. How do they pray?

The same as you. Shorten for them and teach them why: it is a gift from Allah. It is a good way to show them that Islam is easy.

The masjid in the city I am visiting is praying Isha. Should I join them or pray two on my own?

Joining the congregation is a big reward. Pray behind the imam and pray four with him³³.

Can a woman shorten if she is traveling?

Yes. The rules of shortening and combining are the same for men and women.

Can I make up prayers I missed at home by praying them as two on my trip?

No. A prayer you missed at home is a four-rakat debt, so make it up as four.