The short answer
In Sahih Muslim 686, the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, called shortening the prayer when people are safe a charity from Allah. Qasr prayer means shortening the four-rak'ah prayers of Dhuhr, Asr and Isha to two rak'ahs while travelling. The schools' named works give different distances and stay limits.
How do you pray Qasr prayer, step by step?
Qasr changes the number of rak'ahs in a four-rak'ah prayer. The rest of each rak'ah is prayed as in any prayer; for the full postures, see how to pray Salah.
- When shortening begins. Shortening starts after you leave the houses of your town, not while you are still packing at home. Al-Marghinani's al-Hidayah says so for the Hanafi school, and Ibn Qudamah's al-Mughni quotes Ibn al-Mundhir saying that every scholar he knows agrees. Ibn Qudamah also quotes a report from Mujahid that goes the other way. 67
- Two rak'ahs in place of four. Dhuhr, Asr and Isha have four rak'ahs; Fajr has two and Maghrib three. Al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm gives those counts, as the community handed them down. 8 Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet did not offer more than two rak'ahs while travelling, and that Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them, did the same. 2
- Recite Al-Fatihah in your prayer. The Prophet said there is no prayer for one who does not recite the Opening of the Book. Learn it in the Al-Fatihah lesson. 3
- Sit for the tashahhud at the end of the second rak'ah. 'Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, reports that the Prophet recited the tashahhud at the end of every two rak'ahs and ended with the salam. See the tashahhud lesson. 4
- Joining a resident imam: the Hanafi text. Al-Marghinani's al-Hidayah says a traveller who prays behind a resident imam within the prayer time completes four rak'ahs. 9 For the other schools' rule in this case, ask a teacher of your school.
What do the Quran and hadith say about shortening prayer?
The verse says there is no blame on you for shortening the prayer when you travel through the land, if you fear that those who disbelieve may afflict you.
Al-Nisa 4:101
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ كَانُوا۟ لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا
And when you go forth in the land, it is no sin for you to curtail (your) prayer if you fear that those who disbelieve may attack you. In truth the disbelievers are an open enemy to you.
Ya'la ibn Umayyah, may Allah be pleased with him, asked 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, why people still shorten the prayer now that they are safe, since the verse ties it to fear. 'Umar said he had asked the Prophet the same question, and the Prophet said it is a charity from Allah, so accept His charity 1.
صَدَقَةٌ تَصَدَّقَ اللَّهُ بِهَا عَلَيْكُمْ فَاقْبَلُوا صَدَقَتَهُ
1AuthenticSahih Muslim 686
What is the distance for Qasr prayer across the four schools?
The schools use different measures. The works below use classical units: days of travel, miles, burud and stages. No modern kilometre or mile figure is given, and each cell gives the figure its work states, if it states one.
| Hanafial-Hidayah | Malikial-Kafi; al-Risalah | Shafi'ial-Majmu; stay via al-Mughni; status via al-Hidayah | Hanbalial-Mughni | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distance | Three days and nights at camel or walking pace. The passage says farsakhs are not the measure. 10 | Forty-eight miles or more, by land or sea, when the travel is an act of obedience or permitted, in Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi. Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's al-Risalah gives the distance as four burud, which it says are forty-eight miles. 1112 | Two stages, which al-Nawawi gives as 48 Hashimi miles, and not less. 13 | Four burud, the measure Ibn Qudamah argues for. 14 |
| Stay that ends shortening | Fifteen days or more in one town or village. Less than that keeps shortening. 15 | An intended stay of four days or more, says al-Kafi: the prayer is then prayed in full, and without that intention the traveller shortens. Al-Risalah gives four days, or a stay long enough to pray twenty prayers. 1617 | Four days, as Ibn Qudamah reports the Shafi'i view. The prayer is then completed in full. 18 | The well-known view is more than twenty-one prayers in the place. Another narration says an intended stay of four days completes the prayer. 18 |
| Status of Qasr | The obligation in a four-rak'ah prayer is two rak'ahs. If four are prayed with the sitting at the second rak'ah, the last two are nafl (voluntary). 19 | Shortening while travelling is a confirmed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah), for men and women alike, in al-Kafi. It reports Malik's view that a traveller who prays in full over that distance has done wrong and repeats the prayer within its time, as a recommendation. 20 Ibn Qudamah, in the Hanbali work al-Mughni (vol. 2, p. 197), reports completing as also the well-known view of Malik, which differs from the al-Kafi statement above. The two works are given as each states it, and no ruling is chosen between them. 22 | The obligation is four, and shortening is a concession (rukhsah), as al-Marghinani reports al-Shafi'i's view (this cell: as reported in al-Hidayah). 19 | Shortening is one of the concessions that belong to travel, on journeys that are necessary, recommended or permitted. 21 Praying four is allowed: Ibn Qudamah gives Ahmad's well-known view that the traveller may pray two rak'ahs or complete, as he may fast or break the fast (issue 1249), and says shortening is better in the view of most scholars (issue 1250). 22 |
Al-Nawawi, in al-Majmu, gives 48 Hashimi miles as the classical unit for two stages, and al-Risalah gives forty-eight miles as four burud. These are classical miles, not a modern mile count, and no conversion is given. Where a point is not checked in the work, the table says so. A traveller unsure of the distance or the stay should check the local figure and ask a teacher they trust.
What does the hadith say about praying on a mount, and what about cars and planes?
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with him, reports that the Prophet prayed on his mount facing east, and when he wanted to pray a prescribed prayer he dismounted and faced the Qibla 5.
That report does not say a prescribed prayer may be prayed seated in a car, train or plane. For how the four schools treat prescribed prayers in a vehicle, ask a teacher of your school. For voluntary prayers more generally, see Sunnah and nafl prayers.
Worked travel examples
These are illustrations, not real cases.
- A two-day trip. Once you have left the houses of your home town, check the distance in the table for your school, the stay you intend, and whether you will follow a resident imam.
- A planned ten-day stay in one city. The Hanafi text ends shortening at fifteen days, so a ten-day stay keeps it. Under the Shafi'i view, as Ibn Qudamah reports it, and the Maliki view in al-Kafi and al-Risalah, an intended stay of four days ends shortening. Under the well-known Hanbali view, more than twenty-one prayers ends it, and that count is not converted into days.
- Waiting without a fixed departure date. No rule is given for a stay with no fixed end. Discuss the facts of your case with a scholar you trust.
Shortening (Qasr) is a separate rule from joining two prayers in one time window (jam'). See Combining prayers while travelling. For the supplication said when setting out, see the travel dua.
If you are unsure
Travel questions turn on small facts: how far you are going, how long you will stay and which school you follow. If your journey sits near a limit in the table, or you are unsure which school you follow, ask a teacher you trust. For the Maliki school, Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi calls shortening while travelling a confirmed sunnah. 20
The first time I shortened my prayers was at Heathrow Airport, on the way to a family wedding abroad. My dad prayed two rak'ahs for Dhuhr next to me in the prayer room, and I followed him. I asked him about it on the plane.
Try it: the rules and the works
Three checks, each with its source.
1Which prayers have four rak'ahs, as Kitab al-Umm gives the counts?
Answer: Dhuhr, Asr and Isha. Kitab al-Umm gives four rak'ahs for Dhuhr, Asr and Isha, two for Fajr and three for Maghrib. Source 8
2When does a traveller begin to shorten?
Answer: After leaving the houses of the town. The Hanafi text in al-Hidayah says a traveller who has left the houses of the city prays two rak'ahs. Ibn Qudamah quotes Ibn al-Mundhir's report of the same view. Source 6
3In the Hanafi school, a traveller intends to stay seven days in one town. Do they keep shortening?
Answer: Yes, seven days is less than fifteen. Al-Hidayah ends the rulings of travel only at fifteen days or more in one town or village. Seven days is less, so shortening continues. Source 15
Questions people ask
Can I pray four rak'ahs instead of two when travelling?
It depends on the school. The Hanafi text in al-Hidayah says the traveller's obligation is two rak'ahs. Al-Hidayah adds that a traveller who prays four rak'ahs and sits for the tashahhud after the second has prayed the obligation in the first two, and the last two count as voluntary (nafl). A traveller who prays four without that sitting has a void prayer, al-Hidayah says. The Maliki work al-Kafi calls shortening a confirmed sunnah and reports Malik's view that a traveller who prays in full has done wrong and repeats the prayer within its time, as a recommendation. The Shafi'i view, as al-Hidayah reports it, is that the obligation is four and shortening is a concession. The Hanbali work al-Mughni (Ibn Qudamah, vol. 2, p. 197, issue 1249) gives Ahmad's well-known view that the traveller may pray two rak'ahs or complete, as he may fast or break the fast. Al-Mughni (vol. 2, p. 199, issue 1250) adds that shortening is better, in the view of most scholars.
What if I join a mosque prayer behind a resident imam while travelling?
The Hanafi text in al-Hidayah says a traveller who prays behind a resident imam within the prayer time completes four rak'ahs. For the other schools' rule, and for joining part-way through a prayer, ask a teacher of your school.
Does Qasr mean I can also combine Dhuhr with Asr, or Maghrib with Isha?
Shortening and combining have separate rules, so Qasr does not settle combining. Combining prayers while travelling has its own rules. For your own situation, ask a scholar you trust.
How many miles or kilometres is the Qasr distance?
The works give their own classical units, not modern miles or kilometres: three days and nights in the Hanafi text al-Hidayah, 48 miles in the Maliki works al-Kafi and al-Risalah (which al-Risalah gives as four burud), two stages (which al-Majmu gives as 48 Hashimi miles) in the Shafi'i work, and four burud in the Hanbali work al-Mughni. No conversion into modern kilometres or miles is given, and any conversion must be checked locally before it is used as a rule.
Sources
Every claim on this page comes from one of these. Gradings are reported with the scholar's name; we do not grade hadith ourselves.
- 1
Ya'la ibn Umayyah asked 'Umar ibn al-Khattab why people still shorten the prayer now that they are safe; 'Umar said he had asked the Prophet, who said it is a charity from Allah, so accept His charity.
Sahih Muslim 686 Book 6, Hadith 4
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 2
Ibn 'Umar says he accompanied the Prophet and that he did not offer more than two rak'ahs during the journey; Abu Bakr, 'Umar and 'Uthman did the same.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1102 Book 18, Hadith 22
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 3
The Prophet said there is no prayer for the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Fatihat al-Kitab).
Sahih al-Bukhari 756 Book 10, Hadith 150
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 4
Aishah describes the Prophet reciting the tahiyyah at the end of every two rak'ahs and ending the prayer with the salam.
Sahih Muslim 498 Book 4, Hadith 272
Authentic: in Sahih Muslim
- 5
Jabir ibn 'Abdullah reports that the Prophet prayed on his mount facing east, and when he wanted to pray a prescribed prayer he dismounted and faced the Qibla.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1099 Book 18, Hadith 19
Authentic: in Sahih al-Bukhari
- 6
Al-Marghinani says a traveller who leaves the houses of the city prays two rakats, so the shortening follows leaving the city, not packing at home.
Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 80 (al-Marghinani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 7
Ibn Qudamah quotes Ibn al-Mundhir saying that every scholar he knows agrees that a traveller may shorten the prayer once he has left the houses of his town. He also quotes a report from Mujahid that a traveller should not shorten on the day he sets out until nightfall.
Al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 192 (Ibn Qudamah, quoting Ibn al-Mundhir and a report from Mujahid) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 8
Al-Shafi'i's Kitab al-Umm, Kitab al-Salah, 'Adad al-salawat al-khams: the general body of Muslims handed down the count of each prayer: Zuhr four rak'ahs with no aloud recitation, Asr four with no aloud recitation, Maghrib three (aloud in two, quiet in the third), Isha four (aloud in two, quiet in two) and Subh (Fajr) two, aloud in both.
Al-Shafi'i, Kitab al-Umm, chapter 'Adad al-salawat al-khams Read on ar.wikisource.org on 23 October 2026.
- 9
Al-Marghinani says a traveller who prays behind a resident imam within the time of the prayer completes four rakats, because his obligation changes to four to follow the imam.
Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 81 (al-Marghinani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 10
Al-Marghinani says a journey that changes the rulings is one in which a person intends three days and nights at the pace of camels and walking, and that farsakhs are not the measure, which he calls the sound view.
Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 80 (al-Marghinani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 11
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says a traveller shortens only when the journey is one of obedience or a permitted one and its distance is forty-eight miles or more, by land or by sea.
Al-Kafi fi Fiqh Ahl al-Madinah, vol. 1, p. 244 (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 12
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's al-Risalah says one who travels a distance of four burud, which are forty-eight miles, shortens the prayer and prays it as two rak'ahs, except Maghrib, which is not shortened.
Al-Risalah, p. 45 (Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 13
Al-Nawawi says the Shafi'i school permits shortening over two stages (marhalatayn), which he gives as forty-eight Hashimi miles, and not less. He reports the same distance from Malik, Ahmad and others, and reports Abu Hanifa's view as three days.
Al-Majmu, vol. 4, p. 325 (al-Nawawi) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 14
Ibn Qudamah argues the Hanbali position from the words of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, to the people of Makkah, not to shorten in less than four burud from Asfan to Makkah, and calls it the sounder of the two reports from Ibn 'Umar, may Allah be pleased with him. Four burud is the Hanbali measure he defends.
Al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 189 (Ibn Qudamah) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 15
Al-Marghinani says a traveller keeps the rulings of travel until he intends to stay fifteen days or more in a town or village; if he intends less, he shortens.
Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 80 (al-Marghinani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 16
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says a traveller who intends to stay four days or more prays in full and may not shorten, and one who does not intend a four-day stay shortens.
Al-Kafi fi Fiqh Ahl al-Madinah, vol. 1, p. 245 (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 17
Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani's al-Risalah says a traveller who intends to stay four days in a place, or long enough to pray twenty prayers there, completes the prayer until he moves on.
Al-Risalah, p. 46 (Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 18
Ibn Qudamah says Ahmad's well-known view is that a traveller who intends to stay in a town for more than twenty-one prayers completes the prayer in full. Another narration from Ahmad says an intended stay of four days does so. He reports the four-day view as held by Malik, al-Shafi'i and Abu Thawr.
Al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 212 (Ibn Qudamah) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 19
Al-Marghinani says the traveller obligation in a four-rakat prayer is two rakats, and that the second pair is not made up and carries no sin when left, which marks it as nafl; he reports al-Shafi'i's view, as quoted, that the obligation is four and shortening is a concession (rukhsah). If the traveller prays four and sits for the tashahhud at the second rakat, the first two count as the obligation and the last two are nafl; if he does not sit then, the prayer is void.
Al-Hidayah, vol. 1, p. 80 (al-Marghinani) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 20
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr's al-Kafi says shortening the prayer while travelling is a confirmed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah), for men and women alike, and that a traveller who prays in full over such a distance has done wrong according to Malik and repeats the prayer within its time as a recommendation.
Al-Kafi fi Fiqh Ahl al-Madinah, vol. 1, p. 244 (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 21
Ibn Qudamah says the concessions that belong to travel, including shortening (qasr), combining prayers, breaking the fast and praying voluntary prayers on a mount, apply to journeys that are necessary, recommended or permitted, and that this is the view of most scholars.
Al-Mughni, vol. 2, p. 192 (Ibn Qudamah) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
- 22
Ibn Qudamah says, in al-Mughni (issue 1249), that Ahmad's well-known view is that a traveller may pray two rak'ahs or complete the prayer, as he may fast or break the fast, and (issue 1250) that shortening is better than completing in the view of most scholars, with Ahmad saying completing does not please him, and he reports that completing is also held by al-Awza'i and al-Shafi'i and is the well-known report from Malik.
Al-Mughni, vol. 2, pp. 197-199, issues 1249 and 1250 (Ibn Qudamah) Read on shamela.ws on 28 October 2026.
Quran text: the Tanzil Project (CC BY 3.0), reproduced verbatim. English: adapted from Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930).
Next
- How to pray Salah: the whole prayerGuide
- How to pray FajrGuide
- How to pray DhuhrGuide
- How to pray AsrGuide
- How to pray IshaGuide
- How many rak'ahs in each prayerGuide
- Travel duaWords lesson
- Qibla finderTool
- Combining prayers while travellingGuide
- Prayer and PurificationThe hub
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