(According to the fatwas of Ayatullah Sayyid Ali Sistani)
Prayers Of A Traveller (Musafir)
A traveller should reduce the Rak'ats in Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers, that is, he should perform two Rak'ats instead of four, subject to the following eight conditions:
The first condition is that his journey is not less than 8 farsakh . A farsakh in shariah is a little less than 51/2 kilometres. (When converted into miles, 8 farsakh is equal to 28 miles approximately).
* If the total of outward journey and return journey is 8 farsakh, even if the single journey either way does not equal 4 farsakh, he should shorten his prayers. Therefore, if his outward journey is 3 farsakh, and his return is 5 farsakh, or vice versa, he should offer shortened prayers, that is, of two Rak'ats.
* If the total of outward and return journey is just 8 farsakh, the traveller should shorten his prayers, even if he does not return on the same day or night. However, as a precaution, he should also offer complete prayers.
* If a brief journey is less than 8 farsakh or if a person does not know whether or not his journey is 8 farsakh, he should not shorten his prayers. If he doubts whether or not his journey is 8 farsakh, it is not necessary for him to investigate, he should offer complete prayers.
* If an 'Adil or a reliable person tells a traveller that the distance covered in his journey equals 8 farsakh, he should shorten his prayers, if he feels satisfied.
* If a person believed that his journey equalled 8 farsakh, and he shortened his prayers, and learnt later that it was not 8 farsakh, he should offer four Rak'ats of prayers, and if the time for the prayers has lapsed, he should perform its qadha.
* If a person is sure that his journey is not of 8 farsakh, or if he doubts whether or not it is of 8 farsakh , if he realises on his way that the distance of his journey had been 8 farsakh, he should offer shortened prayers, even if very little remains of his journey. If he has offered complete prayers, he should offer it again in the shortened form, but if the times of namaz has lapsed, there is no qadha for it.
* If a person frequents between two places which are less than 4 farsakh apart, he should offer complete prayers, even if the total distance covered by him may add up to 8 farsakh.
* If two roads lead to a place, one of them less than 8 farsakh away, and the other 8 farsakh or more, the traveller will offer shortened prayers if he travels by the road which is 8 farsakh away, and complete prayers if he travels by the road which is less than 8 farsakh away.
* The beginning of 8 farsakh should be calculated from a point beyond which he will be deemed a traveller, and this point is represented by the last boundary of a city. In certain very big cities, it would be probably reckoned from the end of locality.
The second condition is that the traveller should intend at the time of the commencement of the journey, to cover a distance of 8 farsakh. If he travels up to a point which is less than 8 farsakh away, and after reaching there decides to go further, and the two distances, when combined total 8 farsakh, he should offer full prayers.
This is so, because he did not intend travelling 8 farsakh when he commenced his journey. But if he decides to travel further 8 farsakh from there, or to go to a distance of 4 farsakh and then to cover another 4 farsakh to return home, or to go to a place where he intends staying for 10 days, he should shorten his prayers.
* A person who does not know how many farsakh his journey would be, like, if he travels in search of something not knowing how far he will have to go, should offer full prayers. But, if the return journey to his home, or up to a place where he intends staying for 10 days, is 8 farsakh or more, he should offer shortened prayers. Moreover, if he makes a niyyat, during the journey, that he will travel 4 farsakh and again return covering 4 farsakh, he should shorten his prayers.
* A traveller should offer shortened prayers only when he is firmly determined to travel 8 farsakh. Hence, if a person goes outside the city thinking that he would cover 8 farsakh if he finds a companion, he will offer shortened prayers only if he is sure that he will find a companion. And if he is not sure to find one, he should pray full.
* A person who intends to travel 8 farsakh, will pray shortened prayers even if he covers little distance every day. But he will do this when he has reached the point beyond which travelling begins, as explained in rule no.
* However, if his journey is at such a slow pace, that it cannot be considered a journey, then, as per obligatory precaution, he should pray both, full and shortened prayers.
* If a person who is under the control of another person while on a journey, like, a servant travelling with his master, knows that his journey is 8 farsakh, he should offer shortened prayers. But if he does not know, he should offer full prayers, and it is not necessary for him to inquire.
* If a person, who is under the control of another person while on a journey, knows or thinks that he will get separated from that person before reaching 4 farsakh, he should offer full prayers.
* If a person who is under the control of another person while on a journey, feels that he would separate from that person before reaching 4 farsakh, he should offer full prayers. But if he feels sure that he would not separate, at the same time having a faint presentiment that an impediment might occur in the journey, he should offer shortened prayers.
The third condition is that the traveller should not change his mind while on his way. If he changes his mind, or is undecided before covering 4 farsakh, he should offer full prayers.
* If after covering a distance which would add up to make 8 farsakh on return, the traveller abandons the journey, and if he decides to remain at that place, or to return after 10 days, or is undecided about returning or staying there, he should offer full prayers.
* If a person abandons the journey after reaching a distance which would add up to make 8 farsakh on return, and decides to return, he should offer shortened prayers even if he wants to stay there for less than 10 days.
* If a person commences his journey to go to a place which is at a distance of 8 farsakh, and after covering a part of the journey, decides to go elsewhere, and the distance between the place from where he started his journey, up to the new place, is 8 farsakh, he should shorten his prayers.
* If a person, before reaching 8 farsakh, becomes undecided about proceeding further, and if he stops his journey, and later decides to proceed to complete the intended journey, he should offer shortened prayers till the end of his journey.
* If a person, before covering 8 farsakh, becomes undecided about proceeding further, and in the same state of indecision continues travelling, till he decides to go further for 8 farsakh, or for a distance which would add up to make 8 farsakh on return, he should pray shortened prayers till the end, regardless of whether he wants to return the same day or night, or stay there for less than 10 days.
* If before covering a distance of 8 farsakh a, traveller becomes undecided whether he should complete the journey or not, and decides later to do so, if his remaining journey is less than 8 farsakh, he should offer full prayers. But if the distance covered before indecision and the remaining distance, both add up to 8 farsakh, he will offer shortened prayers.
The fourth condition is that the traveller does not intend to pass through his home town and stay there, or to stay at some place for 10 days or more, before he reaches a distance of 8 farsakh. Hence a person, who intends to pass through his home town and stay there, or to stay at a place for 10 days, before he reaches of 8 farsakh, he should offer full prayers.
* A person, who does not know whether or not he will pass through his home town and stay there, before reaching 8 farsakh, or through a place where he will stay for 10 days, should offer full prayers.
* A person who wishes to pass through his home town and stay there, before he reaches 8 farsakh, or to stay at a place for 10 days, or if he is undecided about it, should offer complete prayers even if he later abandons the idea of passing through his home town, or staying at a place for 10 days. However, if the remaining journey is of 8 farsakh or adds upto 8 farsakh on return, he should shorten his prayers.
The fifth condition is that the purpose of travelling should not be haraam. Therefore, if a person travels to do something unlawful, like, to commit theft, he should offer full prayers. The same rule applies when travelling itself is haraam, like, when travelling involves a harm which is haraam in Shariah, or when a wife travels without the permission of her husband for a journey which is not obligatory upon her. But if it is an obligatory journey, like that of Wajib Hajj, then shortened prayers should be offered.
* A journey which is not obligatory, and is a cause of displeasure of one's parents, is haraam, and while going on such a journey, one should offer full prayers and should also fast.
* A person whose journey is not haraam, nor is it for a purpose which is haraam, should shorten his prayers even if he may, during the journey, commit some sin like, indulging in Gheebat or taking alcohol.
* If a person undertakes a journey to avoid some obligatory act, regardless of whether he has some other purpose attached to it, he should offer full prayers. Hence, if a person owes some money, and he undertakes a journey to avoid the demand of his creditor, he should offer full prayers. However, if his journey has different purpose, he should shorten his prayers, even if he leaves out some obligatory acts during that journey.
* If a person travels on a vehicle or on an animal which is usurped, and travels to escape from the rightful owner, or if he travels on a usurped land, he will offer full prayers.
* If a person is travelling with an oppressor, of his own volition, and by so doing is helpful to the oppressor in his inequity, he should offer full prayers. But if he is helpless, or, if he is travelling with the oppressor to save the oppressed person, he should shorten his prayers.
* If a person travels for recreation and outing, his journey is not haraam, and he should shorten his prayers.
* If a person goes out for hunting, with the object of sport and pleasure, his prayers during the outward journey will be full, and on return it will be qasr if it does not involve hunting. But if a person goes out for hunting, to earn his livelihood, he should offer shortened prayers. Similarly, if he goes for business and increase in his wealth, he will pray qasr, although in this case, the precaution is that he should offer qasr as well as full prayers.
* If a person has journeyed to commit a sin, he should, on his return, shorten his prayers, if the return journey alone covers 8 farsakh. And the recommended precaution is that if he has not done Tawba, he should offer qasr as well as full prayers.
* If a person travelling with the purpose of committing a sin, abandons the idea during his journey, he will pray qasr even if the remaining distance from there, or the total of going and returning from there is not 8 farsakh.
* If a person who originally set forth on a journey with no intention of sin, decides during his journey to make it a journey of sin, he will offer full prayers. However, the prayers which he might have prayed in qasr form uptill then, will be in order.
The sixth condition is that the traveller should not be a nomad, who roam about in the deserts, and temporarily stay at places where they find food for themselves, and fodder and water for their animals, and again proceed to some other place after a few days' halt. During these journeys the nomads should offer full prayers.
* If a nomad travels to find out residence for himself, and pasture for his animals, and carries his bag and baggage with him, he should offer full prayers, otherwise if his journey is 8 farsakh he should shorten his prayers.
* If a nomad travels for Ziyarat, Hajj (pilgrimage), trade or any other similar purpose, he should shorten his prayers.
The seventh condition is that travelling should not be his profession, that is, one who has no other work but travelling; or that travelling is the means of his subsistence, like the camel riders, drivers, herdsmen and sailors. Such people will pray full, even if they travel for their personal work, like transporting their own household effects, or transporting their families. Those who live at one place and work at another, commuting every day, or every other day, like students or businessmen etc., fall in this category.
* If a person whose profession is travelling, travels for another purpose like, for Hajj, he should shorten his prayers except when he is a known frequent traveller. If, for example, the driver of automobile hires out his vehicle for pilgrimage, and incidentally performs pilgrimage himself as well, he should offer full prayers.
* If a person whose profession is that of a courier, that is, a person who travels to transport the pilgrims to Makkah, is travelling, he should offer full prayers, and if his profession is not travelling and he travels only during Hajj days for the purpose of portage, the obligatory precaution is that he should offer qasr as well as full prayers. However, if the period of his journey is short, like two or three weeks, he may offer shortened prayers.
* If a person whose profession is that of a courier who takes pilgrims to Makkah from distant places, spends a considerable part of the days in a year travelling, he should offer full prayers.
* A person whose profession for a part of the year is travelling, like a driver who hires out his automobile during winter or summer, should offer full prayers during those journeys, and the recommended precaution is that he should offer qasr prayers, as well as full prayers.
* If a driver or a hawker, who goes round within an area of 2 or 3 farsakh in the city, happens to travel on a journey consisting of 8 farsakh, he should shorten his prayers.
* If a person whose profession is travelling, stays in his home town for 10 days or more, with or without the original intention, he should offer full prayers during the first journey that he undertakes after ten days. The same rule will apply, when he travels after ten days from a place which is not his home town.
* If a herdsman whose profession is travelling, stays at his home town or any other place for 10 days with or without any intention, he should, as a recommended precaution, perform both qasr and full prayers when he undertakes his first journey after ten days.
* If herdsmen or camel drivers who have travelling as their profession, find it difficult and exhausting to conduct a particular additional journey, they should pray qasr in it.
* A person who tours different cities, and has not adopted a homeland for himself, should offer full prayers.
* If a person whose profession is not travelling, has to travel quite often to transport a commodity he owns, he will pray qasr, unless the travelling is so frequent that he becomes known as a constant traveller.
* If a person is not a professional traveller, and he has abandoned his homeland and wants to adopt another homeland, he should shorten his prayers while he is travelling.
The eighth condition is that the traveller reaches the limit of tarakhkhus, that is, at a point beyond which travelling begins. But if a person is not in his hometown, the rule of tarakhkhus will not apply to him. Just as he travels from his place of residence, his prayers will be qasr.
* The limit of tarakhkhus is a place where people of the city do not see the traveller, and its sign is, when he does not see them.
* A traveller who is returning to his hometown will continue praying qasr, till he enters the hometown. Similarly, a person who intends to stay for ten days at a place, will offer qasr prayers, till he reaches that place.
* If a city is situated at such a height, that the residents can be seen from a distance, or, if it is so low that if a person covers a little distance, he would not see them, a traveller from that city should offer qasr prayers applying that distance, which would make him unable to see them were he travelling on a flat land. And if the elevation or depression of the path varies abnormally, the traveller should take an average mean into consideration.
* If a person starts his journey from a place which is uninhabited, he should shorten his prayers when he reaches a place from which the residents, if they had been there, would not have been seen.
* If a person travelling in a ship or on a train, starts praying full prayers before reaching the point of tarakhkhus, and if he reaches that point before having gone into the Ruku of the third Rak'at, he should pray qasr.
* In the situation mentioned above,if he reaches the point of tarakhkhus after the Ruku of the third Rak'at, he can abandon that prayer, and pray qasr.
* If a person was sure that he had reached the point of tarakhkhus, and accordingly started praying qasr, and then he realised that at the time of prayers, he had not reached that point, he should pray again. At that time when he realised this, if he has still not reached the point of tarakhkhus, he will pray full, and if he has already crossed the point, he will pray qasr. And if the time of prayer has lapsed, he will give qadha.
* If a person is gifted with an unusually sharp eyesight, enabling him to see from a distance where others may not be able to see, he will pray qasr from a point from where a person with normal vision would not see the residents.
* If a person doubts whether or not he has reached the point of tarakhkhus he should offer full prayers.
* A traveller who is passing through his hometown, if he makes a stopover there, he will pray full, otherwise, as an obligatory precaution, he will combine both, full as well as qasr prayers.
* When a traveller reaches his hometown during his journey, and makes a stopover there, he should offer full prayers as long as he stays there. But, if he wishes to go from there to a distance of 8 farsakh, or to go upto 4 farsakh and then return for the same distance, he should offer qasr prayers when he reaches the limit of tarakhkhus.
* A place which a person adopts for his permanent living is his home, irrespective of whether he was born there, or whether it was the home of his parents, or whether he himself selected it as his residence.
* If a person intends to stay for some time at a place which is not his original home town, and to later migrate to another place, then such a place will not be considered as his home (Watan).
* A place which a person adopts for his residence is his hometown (watan) even if he has not made a specific intention to live there for ever. It is his watan, if the people there do not consider him a traveller, inspite of his sojourn at other place where he may be putting up for ten or less days.
* If a person lives at two places, for example, he lives in one city for six months, and in another for another six months, both of them are his home(watan). And, if he adopts more than two places for his living, all of them are reckoned to be his home (watan).
* Some Fuqaha have said that if a person owns a house at a place, and lives there continuously for six months, with the intention of living there, he should, as long as that house is owned by him, offer full prayers as and when he travels to that place. But this verdict is not evidenced.
* If a person reaches a place which was previously his home, but has since abandoned it, he should not offer full prayers there, even if he may not have adopted a new home (watan).
* If a traveller intends to stay at a place continuously for ten days, or knows that he will be obliged to stay at a place for ten days, he should offer full prayers at that place.
* If a traveller intends to stay at a place for ten days, it is not necessary that his intention should be to stay there during the first night or the eleventh night. And as soon as he determines that he will stay there from sunrise on the first day up to sunset of the tenth day, he should offer full prayers. Same will apply if, for example, he intends staying there from noon of the first day up to noon of the eleventh day.
* A person who intends to stay at a place for ten days, should offer full prayers if he wants to stay for ten days at that place only. If he intends to spend, for example, ten days between Najaf and Kufa, or between Tehran and Shamiran, he should offer qasr prayers.
* If a traveller who wants to stay at a place for ten days, has determined at the very outset, that during the period of ten days, he will travel to surrounding places up to the limit of tarakhkhus or more, and if the period of his going and returning is so brief, that it cannot be considered as infringement of his intention of staying there for 10 days, he should offer full prayers.
But if it is considered as an infringement, then he should pray qasr. For example, if he is away from that place for a day and a night, then that prolonged period will be breaking the intention, and he will pray qasr. But if he was away for, say, half a day, returning by the evening, it will not be considered as breaking the intention. Of course, if he travels frequently from that place, giving an impression that he is visiting two or more places, then he will pray qasr.
* A traveller, who is not determined to stay at a place for ten days, like, if his intention is that he will stay there for ten days if his friend arrives, or if he finds a good house to stay in, he should offer qasr prayers.
* If a traveller has decided to stay at a place for ten days, but at the same time, considers it probable that he may have to leave earlier because of some hindrance, and if that suspicion is justifiable, he should offer shortened prayers.
* If a traveller knows, for example, that ten days or more remain before the month ends, and decides to stay at a place till the end of the month he should offer full prayers. But if he does not know how many days remain before the end of the month, and simply decides to stay till the end of the month, he should pray qasr, even if it later turns out to be ten or more days.
* If a traveller decides to stay at a place for ten days and abandons the idea before offering one namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, or becomes undecided, he should pray qasr. But, if he abandons the idea of staying there after having offered one namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, or wavers in his intention, he should offer full prayers as long as he is at that place.
* If a person who has determined to stay at a place for ten days, keeps a fast and abandons the idea of staying there after Zuhr, if he has offered one namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, his fast on that day, and for as long as he is there, would be valid, and he should offer full prayers. And if he has not offered a namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, the fast kept by him on that day should be, as a precaution, continued and its qadha be given later. He will then pray qasr, and will not fast in the remaining days.
* If a traveller who has decided to stay at a place for ten days, abandons the idea, but doubts before changing his intention to stay, whether or not he has offered one namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, he should offer qasr prayers.
* If a traveller starts prayers with the intention of qasr, and decides during the prayers that he would stay there for ten days or more, he should offer full prayers consisting of four Rak'ats.
* If a traveller who has decided to stay at a place for ten days, changes his mind during his first namaz consisting of four Rak'ats, he should finish his prayers with two Rak'ats if he has not started the third. And in the later days, he should continue with qasr. Similarly, if he has started the third Rak'at, but has not gone into Ruku, he should sit down, and complete the namaz in its shortened form. But if, he has gone into Ruku, he can forsake that namaz, and pray again as qasr. And for as long as he is there, he should pray qasr.
* If a traveller who has decided to stay at a place for ten days, stays there for more than ten days, he should offer full prayers as long as he does not start travelling, and it is not necessary that he should make a fresh intention for staying for further ten days.
* A traveller who decides to stay at a place for ten days, should keep the obligatory fast; he may also keep Mustahab fast, and offer Nafila (Mustahab everyday prayers) of Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers.
* If a traveller, who has decided to stay at a place for ten days, if after offering a namaz of four Rak'ats (not qadha), or after staying for ten days even without having offered one set of full prayers, wishes to travel less than 4 farsakh away and to return, and to stay again at his first place for ten days or less, he should offer full prayers from the time he goes till he returns, and after his return. But if his return to the place of his stay is only for passing through, on a journey of eight farsakh or more, it will be necessary for him to offer qasr prayers at the time of going, returning, and also at that place.
* If a traveller who decides to stay at a place for ten days, after offering namaz (not qadha) of four Rak'ats, decides to go to another place less than 8 farsakh away, and to stay there for ten days, he should offer full prayers while going, and at the place where he intends to stay. But, if the place where he wants to go is 8 farsakh away or more, he should shorten his prayers while going, and if he does not want to stay there for ten days, he should shorten his prayers during the period he stays there also.
* If a traveller who has decided to stay at a place for ten days, wishes, after offering namaz (not qadha) of four Rak'ats, to go to a place which is less than 4 farsakh away, and is undecided about returning to his first place, or is totally unmindful about it, or he wishes to return, but is uncertain about staying for ten days, or is totally unmindful of staying there for ten days, or travelling from there, he should from the time of his going till returning, and after his return offer full prayers.
* If a person decides to stay at a place for ten days, under the impression that his companions wish to stay there for ten days, and after offering namaz (not qadha) of four Rak'ats, he learns that they have made no such decision, he should offer full prayers as long as he is there, even if he himself gives up the idea of remaining there.
* If a traveller stays at a place unexpectedly for thirty days, like, if he remained undecided throughout those thirty days, whether he should stay there or not, he should offer full prayers after thirty days, even it be for a short period.
* If a traveller intends to stay at a place for nine days or less, and if after spending nine days or less, he decides to extend his stay for further nine days or less, till thirty days, he should offer full prayers on the thirty first day.
* An undecided traveller will offer full prayers after thirty days, if he stays for all thirty days at one place. If he stays for a part of that period at one place, and the rest at another&*7; place, he should offer qasr prayers even after thirty days.
Miscellaneous Rules
* A traveller can offer full prayers in Masjidul Haram and Masjidul Nabi and Masjid of Kufa, and even in the entire cities of Makkah, Madina and Kufa. He can also offer full prayers in the Haram of Imam Husayn (A.S.), upto the distance of 25 armlengths from the sacred tomb.
* If a person who knows that he is a traveller, and should offer qasr prayers, intentionally offers full prayers at places other than the four mentioned above, his prayers are void. And the same rule applies, if he forgets that a traveller must offer qasr prayers, and prays full. However, if he prays full forgetting that a traveller should offer shortened prayers, and remembers after the time has lapsed, it is not necessary for him to give the qadha.
* If a person who knows that he is a traveller, and should offer shortened prayers, offers full prayers by mistake, and realises within the time for that namaz, he should pray again. And if he realises after the lapse of time, he should give qadha as a precaution.
* If a traveller does not know that he should shorten his prayers, and if he offers full prayers, his prayers are in order.
* If a traveller knew that he should offer shortened prayers, but did not know its details, like, if he did not know that shortened prayers should be offered when the distance of the journey is of 8 farsakh, and if he offers full prayers, as an obligatory precaution, he should repeat the prayers if he comes to know the rule within the time of namaz, and if he does not do that, he will give its qadha. But if he learns of the rule after the time has lapsed, there is no qadha.
* If a traveller knows that he should offer shortened prayers, but offers full prayers under the impression that his journey is less than 8 farsakh, when he learns that his journey has been of 8 farsakh, he should repeat the prayers as qasr. And if he learns after the time for the prayers has lapsed, it is not necessary for him to offer qadha.
* If a person forgets that he is a traveller and offers complete prayers, and if he remembers this within the time for prayers, he should pray qasr, and if he realises this after the time is over, it is not obligatory for him to offer qadha of that prayers.
* If a person who should offer complete prayers, offers qasr instead, his prayers are void in all circumstances; and as a precaution, this will apply even when he ignorantly prays qasr, at a place where he stopped for 10 days.
* If a person begins a prayer of four Rak'ats, and remembers during prayers that he is a traveller, or realises that his journey is of 8 farsakh, if he has not gone into the Ruku of the third Rak'at, he should complete namaz with two Rak'ats. But if he has gone into the Ruku of the third Rak'at, his prayer is void. If he has at his disposal, time even to offer one Rak'at, he should offer qasr prayers.
* If a traveller is not aware of some of the details regarding the prayers during travel, for example, if he does not know that if he goes on an outward journey of 4 farsakh, and a return journey of 4 farsakh, he should offer shortened prayers, and he engages in prayers with the intention of offering four Rak'ats, if he comes to know the rule before Ruku of the third Rak'at, he should complete the prayers with two Rak'ats. But if he learns of this rule during Ruku, his prayers as a precaution are void. And if he has time at his disposal, even to offer one Rak'at of prayers, he should offer qasr prayers.
* If a traveller who should offer complete prayers, ignorantly makes a niyyat for qasr and learns about the rule during namaz, he should complete the namaz with four Rak'ats, and the recommended precaution is that after the completion of the prayers, he should offer a prayer of four Rak'ats once again.
* If before the time of prayers lapses, a traveller who has not offered prayers reaches his hometown, or a place where he intends to stay for ten days, he should offer full prayers. And if a person who is not on a journey, does not offer prayers within its time, and then proceeds on a journey, he should offer the prayers during his journey in shortened form.
* If the Zuhr, Asr, or Isha prayers of a traveller, who should have offered qasr prayers, becomes qadha, he should perform its qadha as qasr, even if he gives qadha at his hometown or while he is not travelling. And if a non-traveller makes one of the above three prayers qadha, he should perform its qadha as full, even if he may be travelling at the time he offers the qadha.
* It is Mustahab that a traveller should say thirty times after every qasr prayers: "Subhanallahi walhamdu lillahi wala ilaha illallahu wallahu Akbar". More emphasis is laid on this after Zuhr, Asr and Isha prayers. In fact, it is better that it is repeated sixty times after these three prayers.
Qadha prayers
* A person who does not offer his daily prayers within time, should offer qadha prayers even if he slept, or was unconscious during the entire time prescribed for the prayers. Similarly, qadha must be given for all other obligatory prayers, if they are not offered within time, and as an obligatory precaution, this includes those namaz which one makes obligatory upon oneself by Nazr, to offer within a fixed period. But the prayers of Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha have no qadha, and the ladies who have to leave out daily prayers, or any other obligatory prayers, due to Haidh or Nifas, do not have to give any qadha for them.
* If a person realises after the time for the prayers has lapsed, that the prayers which he offered in time was void, he should perform its qadha prayers.
* A person having qadha prayers on him, should not be careless about offering them, although it is not obligatory for him to offer it immediately.
* A person who has qadha prayers on him, can offer Mustahab prayers.
* If a person suspects that he might have qadha on him, or that the prayers offered by him were not valid, it is Mustahab that, as a measure of precaution, he should offer their qadha.
* It is not necessary to maintain sequential order in the offering of qadha, except in the case of prayers for which order has been prescribed, like, Zuhr and Asr prayers or Maghrib and Isha prayers of the same day. However, it is better to maintain order in other qadha prayers also.
* If a person wishes to offer some qadha prayers for other than the daily prayer, like Namaz-e-Ayaat, or, for example, if he wishes to offer one daily prayer and a few other prayers, it is not necessary to maintain order in offering them.
* If a person forgets the sequential order of the prayers which he has not offered, it is better that he should offer them in such a way, that he would be sure that he has offered them in the order in which they lapsed. For example, if it is obligatory for him to offer one qadha prayer of Zuhr and one of Maghrib, and he does not know which of them lapsed first he should first offer one qadha for Maghrib and thereafter one Zuhr prayer, and then one Maghrib once again, or he should offer one Zuhr prayer and then one Maghrib prayer, and then one Zuhr prayer once again, so that he is sure that the qadha prayers which lapsed first has been offered first.
* If Zuhr prayers of one day and Asr prayers of another day, or two Zuhr prayers or two Asr prayers of a person becomes qadha, and if he does not know which of them lapsed first, it will be sufficient if he offers two prayers of four Rak'ats each, with the niyyat that the first is the qadha prayer of the first day, and the second is the qadha prayer of the second day.
* If one Zuhr prayer and one Isha prayer, or one Asr prayer and one Isha prayer of a person become qadha, and he does not know which of them lapsed first, it is better that he should perform their qadha in a way that would ensure that he has maintained the order. For example, if one Zuhr prayer and one Isha prayer have lapsed, and he does not know which of them lapsed first, he should first offer one Zuhr prayer, followed by one Isha prayer, and then one Zuhr prayer once again, or he should first offer one Isha prayer, and thereafter one Zuhr prayer, and then one Isha prayer once again.
* If a person knows that he has not offered a prayer consisting of four Rak'ats, but does not know whether it is Zuhr or Isha, it will be sufficient to offer a four Rak'at prayer with the niyyat of offering qadha prayer for the namaz not offered. And as far as reciting loudly or silently, he will have an option.
* If five prayers of a person have lapsed one after another, and he does not know which of them was first, he should offer nine prayers in order. For example, he commences with Fajr prayer and after having offered Zuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha prayers, he should offer again Fajr, Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib prayers. This way he will ensure the requisite order.
* If a person knows that one prayer on each day has lapsed, but does not know its order, it is better that he should offer daily prayers of five days; and if his six prayers of six days have lapsed, he should offer six days' daily prayers. Thus for every qadha prayer of an additional day, he should offer an additional day's prayers, so that he may become sure that he has offered the prayers in the same order in which they had become qadha. For example, if he has not offered seven prayers of seven days, he should perform qadha prayers of seven days.
* If a person has a number of Fajr or Zuhr prayers qadha on him, and he does not know their exact number, or has forgotten, for example, if he does not know whether they were three, four or five prayers, it will be sufficient if he offers the smaller number. However, it is better that he should offer enough qadha to ensure, that he has offered all of them.
For example, if he has forgotten how many Fajr prayers of his have become qadha and is certain that they were not more than ten, he should, as a measure of precaution, offer ten Fajr prayers. * If a person has only one qadha prayer of previous days, it is better that he should offer it first, and then start offering prayers of that day, if the time of Fadhilat is not lost. And if he has no pending qadha of previous days, but has one or more of the same day, it is better that he should offer qadha prayers of that day before offering the present obligatory prayers, provided that, in so doing, the time of Fadhilat is not lost.
* If a person remembers during the prayers that one or more prayers of that same day have become qadha, or that he has to offer only one qadha prayer of the previous days, he should convert his niyyat to qadha prayers, provided that:
(a) time allows,
(b) converting the niyyat is possible,
(c) and the time of Fadhilat is not lost.
For example, if he remembers before Ruku of the third Rak'at in Zuhr that his Fajr prayers was qadha, and if the time for Zuhr is not limited, he should convert his niyyat to Fajr prayer, and complete it with two Rak'ats, and then offer Zuhr prayer. But, if the time is limited, or if he cannot convert his niyyat to qadha like, when he remembers in Ruku of the third Rak'at of Zuhr, that he has not offered the Fajr prayers, and by converting the niyyat to Fajr prayers, one Ruku which is a Rukn will increase, he should not change his niyyat to the qadha Fajr prayer.
* If a person is required to offer a number of qadha prayers of previous days, together with one or more prayers of that very day, and if he does not have time to offer qadha of all of them, or does not wish to offer qadha of all of them on that day, it is Mustahab to offer the qadha of that day before offering ada (the same day's) prayers, and it is better that after offering previous qadha, he should once again give qadha of that day, which he had offered earlier.
* As long as a person is alive, no other person can offer his qadha on his behalf, even if he himself is unable to offer them.
* Qadha prayers can be offered in congregation, irrespective of whether the prayers of the Imam are ada or qadha. And it is not necessary that both of them should be offering the same prayers; there is no harm if a person offers qadha Fajr prayers with the Zuhr prayer or Asr prayers of the Imam.
* It is recommended that a discerning child, one who can distinguish between good and evil, is made to form the habit of praying regularly, and to perform other acts of worship. In fact, it is Mustahab that he is encouraged to offer qadha prayers.
