A traveler who meets the following eight conditions must offer the traveler’s prayer (Qasr prayer) for the Ûuhr, ‘aÒr and ishÁ prayers, meaning that he must offer them as two rak‘ahs:
The First Condition: the distance he travels should not be less than eight farsakh as defined by the sharia. A farsakh defined by the sharia is slightly less than five and a half kilometers.
1281. If the totality of the outward and return journey of a person is eight farsakh, and both the outward journey and the return are no less than four farsakh each, he should offer his prayer as qasr. Therefore, if a person’s outward journey is three farsakh, and his return journey is five farsakh, or vice versa, he should offer a conventional prayer.
1282. If a person’s outward and return journeys are four farsakh each, he should offer his prayer as qasr and abstain from fasting, even if he does not return the very same day or night. Recommended precaution dictates that he should also offer his prayers conventionally.
1283. If a person departs for a brief journey, the distance of which is less than eight farsakh, or he does not know whether the journey is eight farsakh or not, he should offer his prayer conventionally. If he doubts whether the distance is eight farsakh or not, he is not obligated to investigate and should offer his prayer conventionally.
1284. If one just person, or a trustworthy worthy person declares that the journey is eight farsakh, and there is no reasonable doubt contrary to his statement, he should offer his prayers as qasr.
1285. If a person is certain that his journey is eight farsakh, and he offers his prayers as qasr, and it later transpires that it was not eight farsakh, he should offer those prayers as four rak‘ah prayers. If their prescribed time has elapsed, he should offer their qaÃÁ.
1286. If a person is certain that his journey is not eight farsakh, or doubts whether it is eight farsakh or not, and during his journey, he realizes that it is eight farsakh, he should offer his prayers as qasr, even though only a small portion of his journey may be remaining.
If he had already offered a conventional prayer, he should offer it again as qasr if he realizes it within its prescribed time. If he realizes it after its prescribed time has elapsed, he is not obligated to repeat it.
1287. If a person travels between two locations several times, the distance between which is less than four farsakh, he should offer a conventional prayer, even though the totality of the distance he has travelled may be equivalent to eight farsakh.
1288. If there are two routes to a destination, one being eight farsakh and more, while the other being lesser than it, then if a person adopts the route that is eight farsakh, he should offer his prayer as qasr. However, if he adopts the route that is less than eight farsakh, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1289. If there is a wall bordering the city, a person should calculate the eight farsakh commencing from the wall. However, if there is no wall bordering it, a person should calculate it from the last houses of the city.
The Second Condition: The traveler should have the intention of traveling eight farsakh from the beginning of his journey. Therefore, if a person travels to a place that is less than eight farsakh, and after arriving there, he intends to depart to another place, the distance of which, when added to the original journey equals to eight farsakh, he should offer his prayer conventionally since he did not have the intention of travelling eight farsakh from the beginning.
However, if he wishes to travel eight farsakh from there, or travel four farsakh to a place where a journey breaker is not realized, such as a place where he does not intend to remain for ten days, and then travel another four farsakh to his hometown, or another location where he intends to remain for ten days, he should offer his prayers as qasr (traveler’s prayer).
1290. If a person does not know the total distance of his journey—for example, he departs in search of a lost person, and does not know how much he will need to travel in order to locate him—he should offer his prayer conventionally. However, if the distance of the return journey to his hometown, or a place where he intends to remain for ten days is eight farsakh or greater, he should offer his prayer as qasr.
Similarly, if in the midst of his journey, he intends to travel to a location at a distance of four farsakh, where a journey breaker will not be realized—for example, he does not intend to remain there for ten days—and his return journey is also four farsakh, he should offer his prayer as qasr.
1291. A traveler may only offer his prayer as qasr in the event that he has the intention of travelling the distance of eight farsakh. Therefore, if a person departs from a city, for example with the intention that if he finds a travelling campanion, he will travel the distance of eight farsakh, he should offer his prayer as qasr if he is confident that he will find such a companion. However, if he is not confident of it, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1292. If a person intends to travel eight farsakh, even if he travels a small portion of the distance each day, he should offer his prayer as qasr once he reaches the authorized limit, which will be defined in the eighth condition. However, if the distance he travels each day is so minimal that he would not be deemed a traveler in the common sense, such as travelling ten or twenty meters, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1293. If a person is under the authority of another during a journey, such as an employee who is travelling with his employer, he should offer his prayer as qasr if he knows the distance is eight farsakh. However, if he does not know, he should offer his prayer conventionally. In addition, he is not obligated to ask him, and in the event that he does, the employer is not obligated to respond to him.
1294. If a person who is under the authority of another during a journey, knows, conjectures or even senses the possibility that he may separate from him prior to reaching four farsakhs, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1295. If a person is under the authority of another during a journey, he should offer his prayer conventionally if he is not confident that he will not separate from him prior to reaching four farsakhs, even if the lack of confidence is caused by entertaining the possibility that there may arise a barrier for his journey. However, if he is confident that he will not separate from him, then any unexpected possibilities will not affect his case, and he will have to offer his prayer as qasr.
The Third Condition: One should not renege from his intention in the midst of his journey. Therefore, if a person reneges on his intention prior to reaching four farsakhs, or becomes uncertain of it, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1296. If after traveling four farsakhs, a person breaks his journey by either deciding to remain there, or deciding to return after ten days, or wavers between remaining and returning, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1297. If after traveling four farsakhs, a person breaks his journey and decides to return, he should offer his prayer as qasr if his return journey is not less than four farsakh, and one of the journey breakers has not been realized for him, such as the intention of remaining in that location for ten days.
1298. If a person departs for a journey that is eight farsakh, and after traveling a portion of that distance, he decides to travel to a new location, he should offer his prayer as qasr if the distance between the location where he began his journey to the new destination is eight farsakh.
1299. If a person departs for a location that is eight farsakhs away, and after traveling four farsakhs, he wavers on whether to travel the remaining portion of the eight farsakhs, or to return without remaining in a location for ten days, he should offer his prayer as qasr, regardless of whether he travels during his doubt or not, and regardless of whether he decides to travel the remaining distance or not.
1300. If after traveling four farsakhs, a person wavers on whether he should travel the remaining portion of the eight farsakhs or return to his place of origin, and he entertains the possibility that he may remain in the place where he entertained the doubt or at another location, for ten days, he should offer his prayer conventionally even if he decides to continue the rest of his journey without remaining there for ten days.
However, if after his doubt, he decides to travel another eight farsakhs, or four farsakh outward and a four farsakh return, he should offer his prayer as qasr from the moment he begins his journey.
1301. If prior to reaching four farsakhs, a person doubts whether he should travel the remaining distance or not, and then decides to travel the remaining distance, then in the event the distance remaining in his journey is eight farsakhs, or four farsakhs outward and four farsakhs return, he should offer the traveler’s prayer from the moment he begins his journey.
The Fourth Condition: A person should not intend to pass through his hometown, or remain in a location for ten days, prior to traversing a distance of eight farsakhs. Therefore, if a person intends to pass through his hometown, or remain in location for ten days prior to completing a journey of eight farsakhs, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1302. If a person does not know whether he will pass through his hometown or not, or remain in a location for ten days or not, prior to traversing a distance of eight farsakhs, he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1303. A person who intends to pass through his hometown, or remain in a location for ten days, prior to traversing eight farsakhs, or a person who wavers on whether he will pass through his hometown or not, or remain in a location for ten days or not, should offer his prayer conventionally even if he decides against passing through his hometown, or remaining in a location for ten days.
The Fifth Condition: The journey should not be for committing a forbidden act. If it is carried out to commit a forbidden act, such as stealing, assisting an oppressor in his oppression, or harming a Muslim, or if the journey itself is forbidden—for example, he has taken a shar‘Ð oath not to travel, or the journey entails harm for him, bearing which is forbidden—he should offer his prayer conventionally.
1304. A journey that is not obligatory, and is the source of the annoyance of one’s mother and father, is forbidden. If a person departs on such a journey, he should offer his prayer conventionally and observe the obligatory fasts.
