When Should I Start Shorten My Prayers?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

When should I start shorten my prayers?

Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah,

Contemporary scholars have differed on the precise calculation of the travel distance. The position forwarded by the Indian Fiqh Academy is 48 miles.

Other scholars hold it to be something closer to 51 miles, and others still, something closer to 55 miles, a view ascribed to Sh. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ‘Uyun al-Sud (may Allah have mercy upon him), and supported by others.

There is nothing clear-cut about the travel distance, so the basis is that you would simply adopt one of these for the purposes of your regular worship. Consistency is key to establishing clarity in religious practice.

(IFA, Fatawa Fiqhiyya Mu‘asira (263))

Please also see: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/hanafi-fiqh/the-definition-of-a-resident-person-traveler/ and: https://seekersguidance.org/articles/beneficial-knowledge/legal-rulings-related-travel/

And Allah Most High knows best.

[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.