The importance of preparing for a journey as an individual or family is unignorable. We need to decide clothes and wearables, food items, travel guide, and other than these things, important items in our hand carries and luggage. The same is valid for a Muslim ready to start traveling whether a pilgrim or world exploration. However, one essential thing a Muslim must remember as a part of their journey is Allah. To remember Him during traveling, a Mushaf and dua when travelling must be with us.
Leaving your home and city needs a lot of planning, and you must plan your journey according to the traveling and stay at a new place. For example, you must have transport, accommodation arrangements, proper clothing, required medicines, and food items. However, as Muslims, we must think that Allah is the best companion, and we experience it the most when traveling. Therefore, there must be some arrangements to remember Him when He expects from us.
The following travel guide will help us remember Allah during our long trips, vacations, and pilgrimage:
What Do We Need During Traveling?
Salaah (Prayer) is compulsory for all Muslims five times a day. Therefore, we must have arrangements to do this task. We must have a Quran Mushaf to recite a few verses. Additionally, Ahadeeth confirm that Allah surely accepts all those requests we pay for during traveling. Therefore, we recommend all Muslims to keep a book in which dua when travelling are included.
What are the Obligations Regarding Prayers?
No Muslim cannot leave a prayer even when away from home. It means you cannot leave any Salaah out of five we perform when home during traveling or stay other than our city. However, we can shorten our prayers when traveling. We confirm it when we go through the following ahadees.
Hadeeth 1
Narrated Ibn `Abbas:
The Prophet (ﷺ) once stayed for nineteen days and prayed shortened prayers. So, when we travel led (and stayed) for nineteen days, we used to shorten the prayer but if we traveled (and stayed) for a longer period we used to offer the full prayer. (Sahi Bukhari, Hadith 1080)
Hadeeth 2
Narrated `Abdullah bin `Umar:
I offered the prayer with the Prophet, Abu Bakr and `Umar at Mina and it was of two rak`at. `Uthman in the early days of his caliphate did the same, but later on he started praying the full prayer. (Sahi Bukhari, Hadith 1082)
Hadeeth 3
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
I offered four rak`at of Zuhr prayer with the Prophet (PBUH) at Medina and two rak`at at Dhul-Hulaifa. (i.e. shortened the `Asr prayer). (Sahi Bukhari, Hadith 1089)
These ahadeeth confirm that we are allowed to shorten our prayers during traveling. These ahadeeth also confirm that shortening prayers means four rakah salaahs will be shortened, and we will offer only two rakaats. However, we will not shorten Fajar and Maghrib prayers. Moreover, we cannot shorten Salaat-ul-Vitr.
Another important point we find in ahadeeth is that if our stay in another place is less than 19 days, we will continue shortening our prayers. However, if these days are more, we cannot shorten our prayers in this case.
One last point, which cannot be ignored is the shortest distance after which we can shorten our distance. There is no confirmed Quran verse or Hadeeth that can tell us. However, the jurists have confirmed that the minimum distance to offer is 4 Jurad. It simply means according to the experts is 55 miles or 88.7 kilometers.
Shortening of Prayer During Hajj and Umrah
As we cover a long distance to do Hajj and Umrah, shortening of prayer is necessary. The above-described ahadeeth confirm that we will shorten our prayers during our visit to the Haram. Moreover, we cannot leave prayer even when we are on a plane because Shariah does not allow us to do so. It means during Hajj and Umrah flights, we will say prayer. However, shortening of Salaat is allowed during flights.
Simplify Your Traveling with Packages
Arranging everything on your behalf always creates a mess. In this situation, you may miss various important things. Therefore, it is essential to buy a complete package of your traveling. This way, you get flight booking, hotel accommodation, travel guide, and transport in a single package.
The best example to explain is the buying of Hajj and Umrah Packages available globally for the Muslims. When buying these packages, you only need to think about the items that you will take with you. The remaining is the headache of your service provider.
Earlier planning also plays a vital role to make your journeys and trips convenient and hassle-free. Many people wait for the 11th hour to prepare for traveling, and it can create a chaotic situation. For example, if you are planning to perform Umrah in December this year, you should start exploring December Umrah Packages from now and finalize your plan as early as possible. This activity not only keeps you away from a messy situation but can also make your trip affordable and cost-efficient.
Include Quality in Your Traveling Time
When planning to travel, we remember everything. However, we ignore many things during this planning that are necessary to keep with us. For example, we keep our favorite songs with us. However, if we try to keep some Islamic audio lectures to learn Islam deeply, a collection of Quran recitation, or naats, we can add quality to our time. This way, you not only spend time with some beneficial and spiritual material but also help you improve yourself.
We can also go with Quran to read it during our traveling. A book of Dua for travelling can also be a part of our collection. In the current tech world, you do not even need hard copies of Mushaf and Islamic books because our smart devices can keep these spiritual compilations more effectively.
Why Dua When Travelling?
Duas are accepted during travel.
Hadeeth
Uqaba Bin Amir Reported:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “The supplications of three people are answered: the traveler, the parents, and the oppressed. (Masnad Ahmad, Hadith 17399)
The above hadith has confirmed that all those duas are accepted, which we ask for during our travelling. And if we are on the sacred journey of Umrah or Hajj, the importance of these duas is multiplied. Therefore, we recommend you to have a book during your trips and visits in which you get all dua when travelling. Moreover, you can also read those duas, which are good during days and night to make your journey more beneficial and result-oriented.
Conclusion
As a Muslim, we must follow all the instructions given by Shariah to make our every minute important. It is because Allah and His Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) have given instructions for all aspects of our life. Therefore, we must also follow the instructions given by Shariah during travelling. In this Travel Guide, we have identified core information about our behavior and activities during traveling. We are hopeful this information will make your travelling time productive through dua when travelling and become beneficial for your coming life.
