The Obligation of Shortening Prayers During Travel

Question: Is shortening the prayer during travel obligatory or recommended? And if we say it is obligatory, what is required of someone who completes the prayer? Sheikh Yahya hafidahullah: The view of the majority is that it is not obligatory. The correct view, however, is that it is obligatory, based on the hadith of ʿĀʾisha (may Allāh be pleased with her), in which she said: “The prayer was initially prescribed as two rak‘ahs. When the Prophet ﷺ migrated, the prayer during travel was affirmed, and an addition was made for those who are resident.” This means that the prayer remained in its original form; it was affirmed in travel as it originally was. Therefore, any addition during travel is not correct, because it remained in its prescribed form. Ibn ʿAbbās stated regarding one who prays four rak‘ahs while travelling: it is like one who prays four rak‘ahs of Fajr while at home. That is, would it be valid to pray four rak‘ahs of Fajr at home? It would not. This indicates that Ibn ʿAbbās considered the shortening obligatory and viewed any addition as improper and invalid. This view is the correct one. Moreover, throughout the Prophet’s ﷺ life, it is not known that he ever completed the prayer fully while travelling until his passing, even though he said: “Pray as you have seen me pray.” We have the Prophet as a beautiful model to follow. Thus, completing the full prayer while travelling is not part of the Prophet’s guidance.