وَإِذَا ضَرَبۡتُمۡ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ فَلَيۡسَ عَلَيۡكُمۡ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقۡصُرُواْ مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ
First: Shortening prayer
Verse: "And when you travel through the land, there is no blame on you for shortening the prayer." (4:101)
Ruling: A legislated concession — the traveler shortens four-rakat prayers to two (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha).
Fajr and Maghrib: Not shortened — Fajr is already two, Maghrib is the day witr.
Second: Combining prayers
Evidence: Prophetic Sunnah — "The Messenger combined Dhuhr with Asr and Maghrib with Isha during travel." (agreed upon)
Combining is allowed early (advancing the later to the earlier) or late — according to the journey.
Distance threshold — scholarly disagreement:
- Majority (Malik, Shafi'i, Ahmad): approximately 80–88 km (two-day journey).
- Hanafis: add conditions of intention and duration.
- Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn Hazm: no fixed threshold — anything called travel.
Wisdom: Removing hardship from the traveler — "He has not placed upon you any hardship in the religion." (22:78)
Question: Which prayers are shortened during travel? What is the distance threshold for the majority?
Answer: Dhuhr, Asr, and Isha are shortened — not Fajr or Maghrib. Majority threshold: approximately 80–88 km (two-day journey).