Salat al-Musafir = al-Safar wa Ahkamuhu fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunna
- Author died
- 1440 AH
- Editions
- Matba'at Safir
Salat al-Musafir (also titled al-Safar wa Ahkamuhu fi Daw al-Kitab wa al-Sunna; lit. 'The Prayer of the Traveler: Travel and Its Rulings in Light of the Quran and Sunna') is a concise treatise on the jurisprudence of travel and prayer during journeys by Saeed bin Wahf al-Qahtani (d. 1440 AH / 2018 CE) .
Composition and Sources
The treatise is numbered as the thirty-fourth entry in the author's published series of works . Al-Qahtani completed its drafting on the eve of Saturday, 29 Dhu al-Hijjah 1421 AH (24 March 2001 CE) . In compiling its legal preferences and conclusions, the author explicitly noted his heavy reliance on the scholarly determinations and weightings (taqrirat wa-tarjihat) of his teacher, Abd al-Aziz ibn Abd Allah ibn Baz .
Content and Structure
The book is structured into jurisprudential topics supported by textual evidences from the Quran and prophetic hadiths, addressing the conceptual, ethical, and legal aspects of travel :
- Definitions and Categories of Travel: An explanation of the linguistic and legal meanings of travel (safar) and the traveler (musafir), followed by a classification of journeys into categories: unlawful (haram), obligatory (wajib), recommended (mustahabb), and permissible .
- Etiquettes of Travel: Guidelines for the traveler, including seeking divine guidance through consultation and istikhara; maintaining sincerity (ikhlas) free of ostentation; acquiring necessary religious knowledge concerning travel rulings prior to departure; repenting and rectifying injustices; funding the journey with lawful wealth; recording a will and paying debts; choosing righteous companionship; and reciting the established supplications when bidding farewell .
- Shortening Prayer (Qasr): The legal textual basis for shortening the four-unit prayers during journeys and why it is superior to praying them fully; the qualifying travel distance; the geographical point where shortening takes effect (upon fully passing beyond the settled houses of one's hometown); and the duration of stay during which a traveler may continue shortening, including the specific ruling on shortening at Mina for pilgrims and residents of Mecca alike .
- Voluntary Prayers and Travel Concessions: The permissibility of praying supererogatory prayers while mounted or inside vehicles; the ruling that regular Sunnah prayers (rawatib) are omitted during travel except for the two units of Fajr and the Witr prayer; and general travel concessions (rukhas al-safar) .
- Congregational Prayer and Combining Prayers (Jam'): The rulings for a resident praying behind a traveling imam and a traveler praying behind a resident imam; rulings regarding the intention for shortening and combining; conditions for continuity (muwalat) between combined prayers; and the types, levels, and conditions of combining prayers both in travel and in residence .
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