Last Updated on Saturday, 02 January 2010 01:10
Concession in the Prayer
Javed Ahmed Ghamidi
(Tr. by Shehzad Saleem)
If the time of the prayer arrives in dangerous circumstances, the Almighty has allowed a person to pray while on foot or riding in whatever way possible. In these circumstances, it is evident that there shall be no congregational prayer, facing the qiblah shall not be necessary, and, in some situations, it shall not be possible to offer the prayer according to the prescribed method. The Qur’ān says:
فَإنْ خِفْتُمْ فَرِجَالاً أَوْ رُكْبَانًا فَإِذَا أَمِنتُمْ فَاذْكُرُواْ اللّهَ كَمَا عَلَّمَكُم مَّا لَمْ تَكُونُواْ تَعْلَمُونَ
When you are exposed to danger, pray on foot or while riding; but when you are safe remember God in the manner He has taught you which you did not know. (2:239)
If such a situation arises during a journey, the Qur’ān has further said that people can shorten the prayer. In religious parlance, this is called qaṣr. The sunnah established by the Prophet (sws) in this regard is that the four rak‘āt prayer shall be shortened to two. No reduction shall be made in two and three rak‘āt prayers. Consequently, the fajr and the maghrib prayers were offered in full in such circumstances. The reason is that while the former already has two rak‘āt, the latter is considered as the witr of daytime, and this status of the maghrib prayer cannot be changed.
In Sūrah Nisā, this directive has been revealed in the following words:
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُواْ مِنَ الصَّلاَةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُواْ لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا
And when you travel, there is no offence for you to shorten your prayers if you fear that the disbelievers may put you through some trial because these disbelievers are your open enemies. (4:101)
The concession of shortening the prayer and that of offering it while on foot or while riding are stated in these verses with the condition: إِنْ خِفْتُمْ (if you fear). It is evident from Aḥadīth that on the basis of this condition the Prophet (sws) analogously offered the qaṣr prayer when there was uneasiness and discomfort while travelling in general. He similarly offered the optional prayer while riding his camel in order to save the caravan from bother.
1 ‘Umar (rta) says that he deemed it strange for the Prophet to offer the qaṣr prayer in such circumstances, and therefore he asked the Prophet (sws). Upon this, he replied: “This is a favour of God upon you; so you should accept it.”
2
From this concession granted in the prayer, the Prophet (sws) has also deduced a concession in the times it is offered, and in such journeys he has led the Muslims in prayer by combining the ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers together and the maghrib and ‘ishā prayers together. It is narrated by Mu‘ādh Ibn Jabal that in the journey undertaken by the Prophet (sws) for the battle of Tabūk he would combine the ẓuhr and ‘aṣr prayers if the sun would descend before the caravan set off, and if the caravan began its journey before the sun’s descent, he would defer the ẓuhr prayer and combine it with the ‘aṣr prayer. Similar was the case with the maghrib prayer. If the sun would set before the caravan set off, he would combine the maghrib and ‘ishā prayers together and if the caravan set off before sunset he would pray the maghrib and ‘ishā prayers together at the time of ‘ishā.3
A similar situation arose at the time the Prophet (sws) offered the ḥajj. Since in the ḥajj, the battle against Satan is symbolized through various rituals, he established the Sunnah in consideration of this symbolism that whether people are residents or outsiders, they shall shorten the prayers at Minā and shorten and combine them at ‘Arafāt.
A subtle reference to this deduction of the Prophet (sws) that prayers can be combined in such situations is found in the Qur’ān itself. The words of Sūrah Nisā on which this directive ends: إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا (because the prayer is incumbent upon the Muslims at appointed times) require that words like “and pray at the appointed times” or similar to these be understood to be present before them as per the linguistic principles of Arabic. It is evident from this understood expression that besides shortening the prayer, people can also reduce its timings. Consequently, the succeeding words are that once peace is restored Muslims should pray the full rak‘āt and pray at the appointed times because the prayer is incumbent upon the Muslims at appointed times.
In the lifetime of the Prophet (sws), an important issue was that no Muslim could have agreed to have been left out from a prayer that the Prophet (sws) led right in a battlefield. Every soldier desired to pray behind him. Though this was a very natural desire, it was essential that proper arrangements of defence be made in the battlefield. One solution to this problem could have been that the Prophet (sws) pray four rak‘āt and the army be divided into half with each half praying two rak‘āt behind him. At some instances, this solution was adopted as well (Muslim, No: 843). However, to save the Prophet (sws) from difficulty that this way could have created, the Qur’ān suggested another way: the Prophet (sws) as the imām and all the soldiers should shorten their prayers and each half of the army should pray one rak‘at each behind the Prophet (sws) and pray the other rak‘at by themselves. Consequently, the first half after completing the first rak‘at including its prostrations should retreat and take up the task of defence and the other half should now stand behind the Prophet (sws) to pray in the Prophet’s second rak‘at. The Qur’ān says:
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلاَةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُم مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُواْ أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُواْ فَلْيَكُونُواْ مِن وَرَآئِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَآئِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ يُصَلُّواْ فَلْيُصَلُّواْ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُواْ حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ وَدَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُم مَّيْلَةً وَاحِدَةً وَلاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِن كَانَ بِكُمْ أَذًى مِّن مَّطَرٍ أَوْ كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَن تَضَعُواْ أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ وَخُذُواْ حِذْرَكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمُ الصَّلاَةَ فَاذْكُرُواْ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَى جُنُوبِكُمْ فَإِذَا اطْمَأْنَنتُمْ فَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلاَةَ إِنَّ الصَّلاَةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَّوْقُوتًا
And [O Prophet (sws)!] when you are among them, and stand to lead them in the prayer [in a battlefield], let one group stand behind you such that they are armed with their weapons. After making their prostration, let them withdraw to the rear and then let the other group who have yet to pray come forward and pray with you; and let these also be armed with their weapons. The disbelievers desire that if you even slightly desert your arms and your gear, they attack you united together. But it is no offence for you to put aside your weapons if you are inflicted with heavy rain or are stricken with an illness, though you should still take necessary protection and you should be certain that God has prepared a humiliating punishment for the disbelievers. When the prayer you have offered in such a manner ends, remember God standing, sitting and lying down [in whatever circumstances you are in]. So when the circumstances become peaceful offer the full prayer, [and, for this, pray at the appointed times] for the prayer is incumbent on the believers at the appointed times. (4:102-103)
It is evident from the narratives that various ways were adopted to offer the rak‘at which each half of the army had to offer on its own as per this directive. At one instance, the Prophet (sws) waited until those behind him completed their rak‘at and then withdrew4 and at another the army later completed the rak‘at.5 There remains no need to state the details of this because this measure, as is evident from the words وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ (when you are among them), related to the presence of the Prophet (sws). After him, neither can the desire to pray behind one imām be as strong nor as important. Today, if there does arise a possibility of congregational prayers in such circumstances, then soldiers can easily pray behind different imāms.
[1]. Bukhārī, No: 1042; Muslim, No: 701.
[2]. Muslim, No: 686. It is evident from this reply that this deduction of the Prophet (sws) was approved by the Almighty.
[3]. Abū Dā’ūd, No: 1220.
[4]. Bukhārī, No: 3900; Muslim, No: 842.
[5]. Bukhārī, No: 900; Muslim, No: 839.
From Mr Javed Ahmed Ghamidi's Book 'Meezan'
Taken with thanks from www.al-mawrid.org
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