Hi, I have two questions regarding prayers while travelling, and I was hoping somebody could answer me here.
I was recently travelling long distances with some acquaintances, and I was told that I must shorten my prayers to half (Namaz-e-Qasr). That meant I should pray 2 Farz Rakaat for both Zuhr, Asr, and Isha instead of the usual 4. Now, considering I had enough time to pray the full four rakaat, is it absolutely necessary that I shorten my prayers?
The other question is that I was also asked to combine my Zuhr and Asr prayers, and pray for both at the same time, and also to combine the Maghrib and Isha. Is that allowed? If not, do I have to read Qaza namaz for those which I combined?
**yes, you may reduce the farz namaaz containing 4 rak'ats...you have the choice...some scholars say it's OK not to do qasr because the journeys in these days are quite comfortable while others say since qasr is a gift from Allah so NOT taking this is like indulging in 'kufraan-e-ne'mat' i would rather do the qasr simply because Allah has allowed us to do and it's the right way to say our thanx to Allah.
YES...you may combine asr and zohr and maGhrib N ishaa while you are traveling.**
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i would also add for your and other's benefit that according to Hanafi maslak, if you travel to more than 40 miles from the city limits t the city limits of the destination city and if ur initial intention is to stay at your destination is less than 14 days, you are allowed to do the qasr during your journey and during your stay at your destination.**
Thank you so much. I guess not praying Qasr namaz is actually denying a blessing from Allah, and if we have the opportunity we should seize it.
However, for combining two prayers while travelling, I have also just found this:
Considering I belong to the Hanafi sect, I guess than I should not have combined the two prayers. While the other schools allow combining, Hanafi sect doesn’t. I have heard that you cannot be choosy about which aspects of your school of thought you want to follow, and that you must follow only teachings of one Imam at a time (even though all are right in their teachings). Am I right in thinking this?
When I am travelling long distance I shorten fard prayers to 2 rakat from 4 and offer my fard namaaz on due time no matter where am I. Never offered few/all at once.