Allah Almighty says: «وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُوا لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُبِينًا» (An-Nisa/ 101); “And when you travel on Earth, there is no blame upon you for shortening your prayer if you fear that disbelievers may harm you. Indeed, disbelievers are open enemies to you.” I find in the verse a conditional clause, which if reversed would be: “There is blame upon you for shortening your prayer if you do not fear that disbelievers may harm you.” The question is, what is the reason that currently, Muslims act against this verse, which has a clear indication?! Is there another verse in the Quran that has remained hidden from me?
There are many mutawatir reports indicating that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, shortened the prayer when traveling, even though he was not afraid of the harm of disbelievers; as it has been narrated from Ya‘la ibn Umayyah: «قُلْتُ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ: إِنَّمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾ وَقَدْ أَمِنَ النَّاسُ»; “I said to Umar ibn al-Khattab: ‘Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has only said: “for shortening your prayer if you fear that disbelievers may harm you,’ while now people are safe.’” In another narration, he said: «قُلْتُ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ: ذَكَرَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الْقَصْرَ فِي الْخَوْفِ، فَأَنَّى الْقَصْرُ فِي غَيْرِ الْخَوْفِ؟»; “I said to Umar ibn al-Khattab: ‘Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has mentioned shortening the prayer for the time of fear, so what is the reason for shortening the prayer when there is no fear?’” In another narration, he said: «قُلْتُ لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ: إِقْصَارُ النَّاسِ الصَّلَاةَ الْيَوْمَ وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾، فَقَدْ ذَهَبَ ذَاكَ الْيَوْمَ»; “I said to Umar ibn al-Khattab: ‘People are shortening their prayers in this time, while Allah the Exalted, the Majestic has said: “If you fear that disbelievers may harm you,” and that time has passed.’” Then Umar said: «عَجِبْتُ مِمَّا عَجِبْتَ مِنْهُ، فَسَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: صَدَقَةٌ تَصَدَّقَ اللَّهُ بِهَا عَلَيْكُمْ، فَاقْبَلُوا صَدَقَتَهُ»; “I was also wondering about this like you, so I asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, about it. He said: ‘It is favor that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His favor.’”[1] Therefore, there is no doubt that shortening the prayer in travel has been the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family. Of course, the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, does not contradict the Book of Allah; because the condition clause ﴿إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾; “If you fear that disbelievers may harm you,” in the word of Allah is by way of mentioning the most common case and does not have an opposing meaning; similar to His word about a pledge, where He has said: ﴿وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ وَلَمْ تَجِدُوا كَاتِبًا فَرِهَانٌ مَقْبُوضَةٌ﴾[2]; “And if you are on a journey and do not find a scribe, then take a pledge”; considering that not finding a scribe in travel has been the most common case, and therefore, the verse does not indicate the impermissibility of taking a pledge outside of travel. Similarly, in travel, the fear of Muslims from the harm of disbelievers has been the most common case, and therefore, the verse does not indicate the impermissibility of shortening the prayer in travel when there is no fear of their harm; especially considering that fear in travel is not limited to the fear of the harm of disbelievers. Rather, travel is naturally inseparable from fear due to the human being leaving his homeland, being away from the things in which he finds comfort, such as his family and possessions, facing dangers along the way, and suffering from loneliness. Therefore, the word of Allah, with its content, indicates the absolute validity of fear due to the unity of the basis; like the saying of a man to his son: “It is okay for you to leave the house early if you fear that you will be late for buying bread,” whenever the fear of being late for buying bread is the most common case for him; because it is not inferred from the saying that if he is afraid of being late for buying other necessities, it is not okay for him to leave the house early; regardless of the fact that this saying does not indicate that it is not okay to leave the house early when there is no fear of anything, based on the rational principle that proving something does not negate things other than it.
All of these explanations are based on the view that the mentioned verse states the ruling on the prayer of the traveler. However, there is another view that the mentioned verse states the ruling for the prayer of fear and has no connection to the prayer of the traveler; as it has been narrated that Ja‘far Muhammad al-Sadiq, peace be upon them, was asked about the word of Allah the Exalted, the Majestic: ﴿وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَنْ تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَنْ يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا﴾[3]; “And when you travel on Earth, there is no blame upon you for shortening your prayer if you fear that disbelievers may harm you.” He replied: «هُوَ أَنْ يَرُدَّ الرَّجُلُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ إِلَى رَكْعَةٍ»; “It means that a man should reduce two rak‘ats to one rak‘at.”[4] According to this view, it can be said that shortening the prayer in travel is not an actual shortening; because prayer was originally two rak‘ats, which were increased in residency and not reduced in travel; as it has been narrated from Aisha that she said: «أَوَّلُ مَا فُرِضَتِ الصَّلَاةُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، فَزِيدَ فِي صَلَاةِ الْحَضَرِ وَأُقِرَّتْ صَلَاةُ السَّفَرِ»; “Prayer was initially made obligatory as two rak‘ats, two rak‘ats. Then the prayer in residency was increased, and the prayer in travel remained as it was,” and said: «فُرِضَتِ الصَّلَاةُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ فِي الْحَضَرِ وَالسَّفَرِ، فَأُقِرَّتْ صَلَاةُ السَّفَرِ وَزِيدَ فِي صَلَاةِ الْحَضَرِ»; “Prayer was made obligatory as two rak‘ats in both residency and travel. Then the prayer in travel remained as it was, and the prayer in residency was increased,” and said: «فُرِضَتِ الصَّلَاةُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ هَاجَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَفُرِضَتْ أَرْبَعًا وَتُرِكَتْ صَلَاةُ السَّفَرِ عَلَى الْأُولَى»; “Prayer was made obligatory as two rak‘ats. Then, after the migration of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, four rak‘ats were made obligatory, and the prayer in travel remained as it was at first,” and said: «قَدْ فُرِضَتِ الصَّلَاةُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ بِمَكَّةَ، فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْمَدِينَةَ زَادَ مَعَ كُلِّ رَكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ إِلَّا الْمَغْرِبَ فَإِنَّهَا وِتْرُ النَّهَارِ وَصَلَاةَ الْفَجْرِ لِطُولِ قِرَاءَتِهَا وَكَانَ إِذَا سَافَرَ صَلَّى الصَّلَاةَ الْأُولَى»; “Prayer in Mecca was made obligatory as two rak‘ats. Then, when the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, came to Medina, he added two rak‘ats to each prayer, except for the sunset prayer, which is the witr of the day (meaning that it makes the number of the rak‘ats of the day odd), and the morning prayer, in which the recitation is long, and whenever he traveled, he would perform the first prayer (meaning the two-rak‘ats prayer).”[5] Also, It has been narrated from Abu Abdullah Ja‘far ibn Muhammad, peace be upon them, that he said: «إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فَرَضَ الصَّلَاةَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ عَشْرَ رَكَعَاتٍ فَأَضَافَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلَى الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَإِلَى الْمَغْرِبِ رَكْعَةً فَصَارَتْ عَدِيلَ الْفَرِيضَةِ لَا يَجُوزُ تَرْكُهُنَّ إِلَّا فِي سَفَرٍ وَأَفْرَدَ الرَّكْعَةَ فِي الْمَغْرِبِ فَتَرَكَهَا قَائِمَةً فِي السَّفَرِ وَالْحَضَرِ فَأَجَازَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَهُ ذَلِكَ كُلَّهُ فَصَارَتِ الْفَرِيضَةُ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً»[6]; “Allah the Exalted, the Majestic made prayer obligatory as two rak‘ats, two rak‘ats until it reached ten rak‘ats. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, added two rak‘ats to the noon, evening, and night prayers, and one rak‘at to the sunset prayer, so it became the same as the obligatory prayer, and it is not permissible to leave it except in travel, and he assigned one rak‘at to the sunset prayer, maintaining it in both travel and residency. Then Allah the Exalted, the Majestic permitted him all of that, so the obligatory prayer became seventeen rak‘ats.” This is a view that eliminates the doubt from the ground up.
The word of Allah Almighty: «وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ مَّيْلَةً وَاحِدَةً وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِنْ كَانَ بِكُمْ أَذًى مِّنْ مَّطَرٍ أَوْ كُنْتُمْ مَّرْضَى أَنْ تَضَعُوا أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ وَخُذُوا حِذْرَكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا» (An-Nisa/ 102); “And when you are among them and lead them in prayer, a group of them should stand with you (in prayer) and carry their arms. Then, when they have prostrated, they should go to the rear, and the other group that has not yet performed prayer should come forward and perform prayer with you, taking precaution and carrying their arms. Disbelievers wish that you would be heedless of your arms and baggage so that they could attack you suddenly, and there is no blame upon you, if you are troubled by rain or are sick, that you lay down your arms, but take precaution. Indeed, Allah has prepared for disbelievers a humiliating punishment,” indicates that the shortened prayer is only one rak‘at, which consists of the standing position and two prostrations. It also indicates that the prayer is completed immediately after the prostrations: «فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ وَرَائِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ»; “Then, when they have prostrated, they should go to the rear, and the other group that has not yet performed prayer should come forward and perform prayer with you.” What do we do now?!
Answer to sub-question 1 Date: 2019 December 23
The word of Allah Almighty: ﴿وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلَاةَ﴾; “And when you are among them and lead them in prayer” to the end, explains the manner of performing the prayer of fear and has no connection to prayer in other situations, as is apparent from the mention of precaution and arms. Yes, it appears from it that the prayer of fear is one rak‘at; as it has been narrated from ibn Abbas that he said: «فَرَضَ اللَّهُ الصَّلَاةَ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّكُمْ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْحَضَرِ أَرْبَعًا وَفِي السَّفَرِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَفِي الْخَوْفِ رَكْعَةً»[1]; “Allah has made the prayer obligatory through the tongue of your Prophet, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family, in residency four (rak‘ats), in travel two (rak‘ats), and in fear one (rak‘at),” and from Yazid ibn Suhayb that he said: «سَأَلْتُ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ عَنِ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ فِي السَّفَرِ أَقْصُرُهُمَا؟ قَالَ جَابِرٌ: إِنَّ الرَّكْعَتَيْنِ فِي السَّفَرِ لَيْسَتَا بِقَصْرٍ، إِنَّمَا الْقَصْرُ رَكْعَةٌ عِنْدَ الْقِتَالُ، قَالَ: ثُمَّ أَنْشَأَ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ عِنْدَ الْقِتَالِ إِذْ حَضَرَتِ الصَّلَاةُ، فَقَامَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَصَفَّ طَائِفَةً خَلْفَهُ وَقَامَتْ طَائِفَةٌ وُجُوهُهَا قِبَلَ وُجُوهِ الْعَدُوِّ، فَصَلَّى بِهِمْ رَكْعَةً وَسَجَدَ بِهِمْ سَجْدَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ صَلَّوْا خَلْفَهُ انْطَلَقُوا، فَقَامُوا مَقَامَ أُولَئِكَ، فَجَاءَ أُولَئِكَ فَصَفُّوا خَلْفَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَصَلَّى بِهِمْ رَكْعَةً وَسَجَدَ بِهِمْ سَجْدَتَيْنِ، ثُمَّ إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ جَلَسَ، فَسَلَّمَ وَسَلَّمَ الَّذِينَ خَلْفَهُ وَسَلَّمُوا أُولَئِكَ، فَكَانَتْ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَلِلْقَوْمِ رَكْعَةً رَكْعَةً»[2]; “I asked Jabir ibn Abdullah about the two rak‘ats in travel, ‘Shall I shorten them?’ Jabir said: ‘The two rak‘ats in travel are not shortened. The shortening is only to one rak‘at in time of war.’ Then he began to narrate that he was with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family, in a battle when the time for prayer came. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family, stood up and formed a group behind him, and a group stood with their faces toward the enemy. Then he led them in one rak‘at with two prostrations. Then those who performed prayer behind him left and stood in the place of the other group. Then they came and formed up behind the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family. Then he led them in one rak‘at with two prostrations. Then the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family, sat and performed Taslim, so did those behind him and the other group. So the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing of Allah be upon him and his family, performed two rak‘ats and the groups performed one rak‘at each.” This is also the view of Hasan al-Basri, Tawus, Mujahid, and the literalist, and also a narration from the Ahl al-Bayt. Ibn al-Junayd has said that if the conditions of war and its cessation requires maintaining battle formation and readiness for an unforeseen attack, then the imam leads the first group in one rak‘at with two prostrations, then they leave and the people offer Taslim to each other in their battle formations. It has been narrated from Abu Ja‘far Muhammad ibn Ali, peace be upon them, that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, performed prayer in this way in the battle of Asfan. Some narrators have said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, performed two rak‘ats, and each group performed one rak‘at. The majority of scholars have said that each group performs two rak‘ats, which is also a well-known narration from the Ahl al-Bayt and can be reconciled with the word of Allah Almighty; because His word: ﴿فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا﴾; “Then, when they have prostrated” is not explicit about prostration in the first rak‘at. Therefore, perhaps it refers to prostration in the second rak‘at.
As for your saying that the prayer of fear consists of the standing position and two prostrations, this is a misconception; because Allah Almighty has not been explaining all the actions of the prayer of fear, but rather its beginning and end, as the ruling is related to them; He mentioned its beginning, saying: ﴿فَلْتَقُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَكَ﴾; “A group of them should stand with you (in prayer),” and mentioned its end, saying: ﴿فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا﴾; “Then, when they have prostrated.” Undoubtedly, proving something does not negate things other than it, and a command is not specified by silence. Allah Almighty has commanded bowing in other verses, saying: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ﴾[3]; “O you who believed! Bow down, prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord,” and said: ﴿وَالرُّكَّعِ السُّجُودِ﴾[4]; “And those who bow and those who prostrate themselves.” Therefore, bowing is obligatory in every prayer, and a rak‘at is not called a rak‘at except with regard to bowing.
We pray to Allah, O our brother, to protect you from interpreting the Quran based on personal opinion, speaking about it without knowledge, and following what is allegorical in it; since only those in whose hearts is deviation and who seek discord do that. It has been narrated from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family, that he said: «مَنْ قَالَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ»[5]; “Whoever speaks about the Quran without knowledge shall take his seat in the fire,” and from Abu Ja‘far, peace be upon him, that he said: «مَا عَلِمْتُمْ فَقُولُوا وَمَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوا فَقُولُوا اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَنْتَزِعُ الْآيَةَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ يَخِرُّ فِيهَا أَبْعَدَ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ»[6]; “Say what you know, and if you do not know, say, ‘Allah knows best.’ A man picks out a verse from the Quran and falls in it (meaning, misinterprets it) a farther distance than what is between the Earth and the sky.”