When travelling, the main concession is qasr: shortening the four-rak‘ah prayers to two rak‘ahs.
A rak‘ah is one unit of prayer. Thus, Dhuhr, Asr, and Isha become two rak‘ahs, while Fajr remains two and Maghrib remains three. ‘A’isha reported that prayer was first prescribed as two rak‘ahs, and the prayer while travelling stayed at two (Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1570).
You may also combine prayers during travel according to the majority view: Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, either at the earlier prayer’s time (jam‘ taqdim) or the later prayer’s time (jam‘ ta’khir), when genuine travel circumstances warrant it. The Hanafi school does not permit combining for travel; it allows combining only at ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah during Hajj. Scholars also differ about the distance and length of stay that count as travel, so ask a qualified scholar you trust if your journey is borderline.
Step by step
- 1Pray Fajr normally: 2 rak‘ahs.
- 2Pray Dhuhr: 2 rak‘ahs; Asr: 2 rak‘ahs; Isha: 2 rak‘ahs.
- 3Pray Maghrib normally: 3 rak‘ahs.
- 4If you follow a school that permits combining, pray Dhuhr and Asr together, or Maghrib and Isha together, while maintaining each prayer’s correct number of rak‘ahs.
- 5If you cannot stand safely, pray sitting; if you cannot sit, pray on your side, as instructed in Sahih Bukhari, Hadith 1117.
