Volume - V / CHAPTER - 2 / LESSON NO: 12
ABOUT THE PRAYER OF TRAVELLER
Q 1: Who is traveller under Shari'ah?
A. A traveller, according to Shari'ah, is that person who leaves his normal place of residence,town for a distance of three days continuous journey. Continuous journey does not mean that he should keep travelling from dawn to dusk but it means to travel in the greater part of the day, for, he has to break the journey for prayer, food and other essential needs. To travel means travelling at a moderate speed, neither fast nor slow.
Q 2: Is "Kos" reliable for distance of journey?
A. "Kos" (an unstandardised distance measure ranging from 1 1/4 to three miles) is not reliable for journey as these are small at one place and large at the other. That's why three "Manzil pl.Manaazil" (a day's journey) are reliable. On land the distance of journey is about 57 1/2 miles Only that mode of journey will be countable by which one travels.
Q3: What does it mean to be out of town?
A. It means to go out of the popUlaated area of village or town or city as the case may be. A citizen should also go out of the adjoining populated areas of the city. The one who leaves his normal place of residence,town with the intention of three days continuous journey will be considered traveller even before reaching bus stand or railway station if they are situated out of the popUlaated area.
Q4: Which Islamic injunctions are changed for a traveller?
A. Prayer becomes "Qasr"(curtailment of prayer during journey), non-observance of fast becomes "Mubah" (permissible), duration of "Masah" on socks extends upto three days, prayers of "Jumu'ah and of both "Eids" and sacrifice (on Eidul Adah) are not obligatory on traveller.
Q 5: What is meant by "Qasr" in prayer?
A. "Qasr" means to offer only two of four Rakahs obligatory prayer. Only two Rakahs (of Fard prayer) are complete prayer for a traveller. It is very sinful for one to offer four Rakahs intentionally as it is deliberate omission of Waajib. He must repent for the sin.
Q 6: Is there "Qasr" in Sunnah or not?
A. Sunnat prayers can not be curtailed but must be offered in full. However, in case of any fear or hurry these can be dropped but have to be offered in peace.
Q 7: How long will a traveller remain traveller?
A. The traveller who has covered a distance of three days continuous journey will remain traveller unless he comes back to his normal place of residence, town or intends to stay there (the place he travelled to) for full fifteen days and in case he intends to go back home before covering the distance of three "Manaazil" then he is no longer traveller even if he be in forest.
Q 8: How many kinds of place of residence are there?
A. Place of residence is of two kinds i.e. original or permanent place of residence and temporary place of residence or place of stay. Original or permanent place of residence is that place where one was born or his family is permanently settled having no intention to leave the place and temporary place of residence or place of stay is that place where one (a traveller) intends to stay for fifteen or more days.
Q 9: Is "Qasr" essential for one who intends to stay at any place for less than fifteen days but extends his stay for more four or six days due to incompletion of work?
A. The one (traveller) who stays at any place for two or four days or for thirteen or fourteen days for any work or in wait of his companion(s) and his stay extends even for years in the hope that his work will be completed today or tomorrow, will offer "Qasr" prayer unless he intends to stay for full fifteen days at one time.
Q10: What about that traveller who offered full four Rakahs of obligatory prayer?
A. If a traveller offers full four Rakahs of obligatory prayer by mistake then he should observe Sajdatus Sahv in the end of the prayer. The prayer so offered will be treated as two "Fard" and two "Nafl" and if he offered four Rakahs intentionally with "Qa'adah" after two Rakahs, his obligatory prayer would be deemed to have been observed and later two Rakahs would be treated as Nafl but he is sinner. And in case of non-observance of Qa'adah after two Rakahs his "Fard" prayer would be deemed to have not been offered. This prayer will be treated "Nafl". He ought to repeat the prayer to accomplish "Fard".
Q11: Can a traveller offer his prayer behind a resident (Imaam) or not?
A. A traveller can offer prayer under the leadership of a resident in normal (the first) congregation of the time but not after the time is over i.e. in second congregation, if arranged,held. hi normal congregation he will offer full four Rakahs behind the resident. However, a traveller can offer all those prayers under the leadership of a resident which are not curtailed i.e. are not "Qasr" within and without the time.
Q12: Can a resident offer prayer behind a traveller?
A. A resident can offer prayer under the leadership of a traveller irrespective of the time and "Qada" prayer and should complete his remaining two Rakahs after the Imaam has said "Salaam". He should not do "Qiraa-at" in these Rakahs but instead should stand silent for such a time during which Surah Faateha is recited.
The Imaam should announce either at the outset or after finishing his prayer that he is a traveller so that Muqtadis may become aware of his being traveller and complete their prayer accordingly.
Q13: Can a traveller offer prayer in a train in motion or not?
A. "Fard", "Waajib" and Sunnat of Fajr can not be offered in a train in motion, as facing the Qiblah and place (on which prayer is offered) must also be one are the prerequisites of obligatory prayers. These two conditions are not possible to be met in a train in motion. However, Nafl and other prayers can be offered.
Traveller should perform ablution in advance and offer these prayers as soon as the train stops at any station and in case he apprehends that the stipulated time of prayer will run out then he should offer prayer in train anyhow and repeat it later at the first available time, for, repetition of the prayer in which any "Rukn" or precondition is left out is must. The same rule also applies to plane. It is wrong to consider train like plane and boat to this effect because boat will not stand on or touch the earth even though stopped on the water whereas the train will.
Prayer in boat will be in order only when it is in the deep of river and if it is ashore and traveller can go to the land then prayer will not be in order in boat.