How to Pray While Travelling: Shortening and Combining Prayers

📖 16 min read

It is 3 p.m., your flight leaves in an hour, the security queue is not moving, and the time for Dhuhr has already begun. Or perhaps you have been on the motorway for three hours, your children are asleep in the back, and the sun is starting to sink. Every Muslim traveller knows that moment of tension: ‘How am I going to pray? Am I allowed to shorten my prayers? To combine them? What if I get it wrong?’

The good news is that Islam has made provision for this situation. Travel is one of the circumstances in which Allah has explicitly made prayer easier, through two concessions: shortening (qasr) and combining (jam’). This article explains how to put them into practice, who qualifies as a traveller, how long these concessions last, and where scholars differ, with a comparison of the four schools. If you would first like to review prayer as a whole, our guide on how to pray explains every step.

1. A concession granted by Allah

The verse quoted at the beginning continues with a condition: ‘if you fear that those who disbelieve may harm you’ (4:101). A Companion, Ya’la ibn Umayya, asked ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه about this: now that people were safe, why continue to shorten prayers? ‘Umar replied that he had wondered the same thing and had put the question to the Prophet ﷺ, who told him:

‘It is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity.’

— Narrated by Muslim (no. 686), from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab رضي الله عنه

What this hadith means in practice: shortening is not reserved for dangerous situations. It applies to travel even in the most comfortable circumstances, by plane or train. The Prophet ﷺ presents it as a gift: refusing a charity Allah offers us out of excessive scrupulousness is not a mark of piety. ‘A’isha رضي الله عنها also reported that prayer was originally prescribed as two units (rak’a); it remained that way for travel and was increased for those who were not travelling (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 350, and Muslim, no. 685).

This concession reflects a general principle in the Quran: ‘Allah intends ease for you, and does not intend hardship for you’ (2:185), and ‘He has placed no hardship upon you in religion’ (22:78).

2. Who qualifies as a traveller?

This is the first question, and scholars differ on the answer. There are two main approaches:

According to the vast majority of scholars, you may only begin shortening prayers after leaving the last inhabited buildings of your town or city, rather than at home on the eve of departure. According to the majority, the journey must also have a lawful purpose.

3. How to shorten prayers (qasr)

Shortening is straightforward: prayers of four units are prayed as two. The others remain unchanged.

A shortened prayer is performed exactly like a two-unit prayer, with the tashahhud and final salutation after the second unit. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما said: ‘I accompanied the Prophet ﷺ, and he did not pray more than two units while travelling.’ He added that Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman رضي الله عنهم did the same (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1102).

What this hadith means in practice: shortening was the regular practice of the Prophet ﷺ and his successors during travel, rather than an occasional exception. This is why all scholars recommend it, although they differ on its legal status: obligatory for Hanafis, a strongly recommended Sunnah for Malikis, and a concession that is preferable to use for Shafi’is and Hanbalis. Imam Ahmad said: ‘I do not favour praying in full.’

4. How to combine two prayers (jam’)

Combining means performing two prayers during the time of one of them. It applies to only two pairs: Dhuhr with ‘Asr, and Maghrib with ‘Isha. Fajr is never combined with another prayer, and ‘Asr is not combined with Maghrib.

Both forms are attested in the Sunnah. Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه reported that when the Prophet ﷺ set out before the sun had passed its zenith, he delayed Dhuhr until ‘Asr time and combined them; if the sun had passed its zenith before his departure, he prayed Dhuhr and then set off (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1111, and Muslim, no. 704). Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما reported that he combined Maghrib and ‘Isha when travelling in haste (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1106). During the Farewell Pilgrimage, he combined Dhuhr and ‘Asr at ‘Arafa, then Maghrib and ‘Isha at Muzdalifa, with one adhan and two iqamas (narrated by Muslim, no. 1218, from Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah رضي الله عنهما).

The key point: shortening and combining are two separate concessions. You can shorten without combining—performing each eligible prayer as two units at its own time—and combine without shortening. Combining, however, is not exclusively linked to travel: Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما reported that the Prophet ﷺ once combined prayers in Madinah ‘without fear or rain’, explaining that he wanted to avoid placing his community in hardship (narrated by Muslim, no. 705). Scholars have inferred permission to combine in cases of genuine need, but not to make it a habit.

5. Comparing the four schools

Here is a summary of the positions of the four Sunni schools of jurisprudence, alongside the view of Ibn Taymiyya, which is widely followed today. Each rests on serious arguments: follow the position of your tradition, or the view you find convincing after consulting a trustworthy scholar.

Note: this table summarises the main positions adopted within each school; there are nuances and differing views within each one. Distances in kilometres are modern estimates.

Before setting off, remember the supplications the Prophet ﷺ recited when mounting his animal to travel: ‘Glory be to Him who has made this available to us, though we could not have brought it under our control; and surely to our Lord we shall return’ (narrated by Muslim, no. 1342, from Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما). This supplication naturally applies to travelling by car, train or plane as well.

6. How long do you remain a traveller?

This question causes the most confusion, especially for longer stays: a month’s holiday in your home country, a work assignment or studies abroad. The principle is that traveller status ends when you intend to stay somewhere for a specified period. The schools differ on that period (see the table): 15 days for Hanafis, 4 days excluding the days of arrival and departure for Malikis and Shafi’is, and more than 21 prayers for Hanbalis.

These periods are based in part on the Prophet’s ﷺ stays. Anas ibn Malik رضي الله عنه reported that they travelled with the Prophet ﷺ from Madinah to Makkah, that he prayed two units at a time until their return, and that they stayed in Makkah for ten days (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1081). Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما also reported that he stayed for nineteen days while shortening his prayers (narrated by Al-Bukhari); Ibn Taymiyya and others place this stay at the conquest of Makkah. For Ibn Taymiyya, these stays show that the texts establish no fixed duration: as long as the traveller does not intend to settle, the concession remains available.

7. Practical situations: planes, imams and Sunnah prayers

Praying on a plane

The Prophet ﷺ performed voluntary prayers on his mount, facing whichever direction it was moving, but dismounted for obligatory prayers (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1000, from Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما). Scholars have drawn from this a three-step approach to praying on a plane:

Praying behind a resident imam

When praying alone or with other travellers, you shorten your prayers. Asked by a traveller who was praying alone in Makkah, Ibn ‘Abbas رضي الله عنهما replied: ‘Two units: that is the Sunnah of Abu al-Qasim ﷺ’ (narrated by Muslim, no. 688). However, if you pray behind an imam who performs the prayer in full—in a local mosque, for example—the majority of scholars consider that you must pray four units as he does. If you, as a traveller, lead residents in prayer, you may shorten it, and the congregation completes the remaining two units after your final salutation.

Voluntary prayers while travelling

Ibn ‘Umar رضي الله عنهما reported that the Prophet ﷺ did not perform the regular voluntary prayers associated with obligatory prayers while travelling (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1101). He nevertheless continued to pray witr, even on his mount (narrated by Al-Bukhari, no. 1000). Scholars also mention that he did not omit the two units before Fajr. There is also no prohibition on unrestricted voluntary prayers, such as night prayer or duha, for anyone with the energy to perform them.

Finally, remember that the rules of purification remain the same while travelling: our guide to ablution (wudu) reviews the steps and what invalidates it.

8. A step-by-step recap

Sources and references