• Prayer of the Traveler

    When is one considered a traveler in terms of Islamic rulings?

    One is considered a traveler (musafir) in terms of Islamic law when one travels 90 kilo-meters or more away from his city, town, or vil-lage, and plans a stay of less than fifteen days in any one place abroad.

    When does travel start and end?

    Travel starts as soon as one goes out of his town and it ends when he comes back.

    How do we perform our prayers when we are travelers?

    Since journeys usually involve duress, the law gives travelers certain dispensations. We shorten the four-rakah obligatory prayers (Afternoon, Late Afternoon, Late Evening) and perform them as two-rakah prayers. The three and two-rakah obligatory prayers remain un-changed. If we do not have time, we may elect not to perform the sunnah parts of the prayers. If we decide to perform the Sunnah parts of the prayers, there would not be any shortening.

    How do we perform a prayer in congre-gation traveling?

    When are traveling and follow a leader (imam) who is a resident person of a locality (muqim), we do not shorten the obligatory parts of the prayer. We follow the leader (imam) and pray all of the four rakahs.

    When a traveler is the prayer leader (imam), how do residents (muqim) per-form the prayer behind him?

    When a traveler becomes a leader (imam), he ends the prayer by giving As-Salam at the end of the second rakah for a four-rakah obligatory (fardh) prayer. If there are people who are not travelers within the congregation, they then get up and complete their prayers to four rakahs.

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