4-101 And when you journey in the earth, there is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve will give you trouble. Surely the disbelievers are an open enemy to you.a
وَ اِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِی الْاَرْضِ فَلَیْسَ عَلَیْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ اَنْ تَقْصُرُوْا مِنَ الصَّلٰوةِ ۖۗ اِنْ خِفْتُمْ اَنْ یَّفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِیْنَ كَفَرُوْۤا ؕ اِنَّ الْكٰفِرِیْنَ كَانُوْا لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِیْنًا (١٠١)
4-101a: What is meant by shorten the prayer: تَقۡصُرُواْ مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ – The meaning of قصر is to shorten. It is not clarified here that when the prayer is shortened whether the shortening is in the components of prayer or in the number of rakahs. From the authentic sunnah of the Holy Prophet it is established that the shortening is in rakahs. By using the term مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ , it is communicated that the shortening is for some prayers and not for all prayers. Accordingly, it is only in the Zuhar, Asar, and Isha prayers that two rakahs is prayed instead of four while on a journey. The shortening of prayer is prescribed when a person is journeying. For the meaning of فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ ضَرَبۡ see 2-60a, and for what is meant by journeying see 2-184b. Here although shortening of prayer is given as a permission but since the permission is given in a situation of need, it would not be right not to benefit from it. It is well established that the Holy Prophet always shortened the prayers during a journey. The hadith that the Holy Prophet sometimes said the full prayers and sometimes shortened them during journeys is not correct as Ibn Qayyim has written. Hence prayers should be shortened during journeys, that is offer only the obligatory or Farz prayer and even there where there are four rakahs to reduce it to two. When the obligatory prayer is reduced to half, then the voluntary prayer or nawafil stand automatically eliminated. The two rakah sunnah before the morning obligatory prayer which have been emphasized and which were never dropped by the Holy Prophet and the witr should be offered even when on a journey. The relationship of this verse with the previous topic is that when jihad and migration was urged and emphasized then these events require journeying. Hence the rules for prayer during journey and in jihad are given immediately after.
There is apparently another condition besides journeying for shortening the prayer and that is fear that that those who disbelieve will give trouble. So is the shortening of the prayer allowed in a condition of fear and not in a condition of peace? As has been proven above, authentic evidence shows that the Holy Prophet shortened prayers on a journey in all kinds of conditions and there is unanimity of opinion of the Muslim nation on this point. Ya Ali bin Umayya narrated that he asked Caliph Umar why he shortened prayers during a journey although they were experiencing conditions of peace. He replied that the thing you are wondering about is what I wondered about too and I asked the Holy Prophet about it, and he said: صدقة تصدق اللّٰه بھا علیکم فاقبلو اصدقته (The shortening of prayer is a charity ( صدقه) that Allah has given to you, so accept this charity). This goes to show that the shortening of prayer, two instead of four rakah, is not conditional on being in fear. So, based on this hadith and authentic sunnah it is established that the shortening of prayer is of two types. One type is shortening to two rakahs from four rakahs in zuhar, asar and isha prayers and this is conditional only on being on a journey, and second is the shortening of prayer conditional on a state of fear which is described in the next verse, that is leaving after one rakah in congregation to go face the enemy from a two rakah prayer. This is also what appears from the wording in the Quran because the fear that the unbelievers will inflict harm cannot be revoked just by reducing four rakh prayers to two rakahs. Just this amount of reduction in time is not a remedy for the fear because in the time it takes to say two rakahs, the enemy can attack and inflict great damage. The real remedy for fear is what is stated in the next verse that half the force should stay facing the enemy and when the other half after participating in one rakah goes back to face the enemy, the other half should join the Imam for the second rakah. Thus, the enemy will not be able to attack the Muslims while they are offering congregational prayers. It is obvious that the Imam has offered only two rakahs of prayer and the congregational followers have offered only one rakah each with the Imam. So, the reduction of four rakahs to two is subject to the first condition, that is of journeying, and offering only one rakah in congregation is conditional on the second condition that of fear of the enemy. It is only the second curtailment which is a remedy against the fear of the enemy and not the first curtailment. If the mere reduction from four to two rakahs was an appropriate treatment for the fear of the enemy then the second treatment would not have been mentioned. It is clearly evidenced from this that the spirit of the Quran is exactly what the Holy Prophet understood and practiced, that is to shorten the prayer from four rakahs to two rakahs because of a journey and for fear of an enemy further reduce the prayer to one congregational rakah. If, on the one hand, this shows the Quran to be a Book of great wisdom, on the other hand, it proves the understanding of even the minutest meaning by the Holy Prophet through Divine inspiration (وحی خفی). The pause after مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ supports this interpretation.
4-102 And when thou art among them and leadest the prayer for them, let a party of them stand up with thee, and let them take their arms. Then when they have performed their prostration, let them go to your rear, and let another party who have not prayed come forward and pray with thee, and let them take their precautions and their arms. Those who disbelieve long that you may neglect your arms and your baggage, that they may attack you with a sudden united attack. And there is no blame on you, if you are inconvenienced on account of rain or if you are sick, to put away your arms; and take your precautions. Surely Allah has prepared abasing chastisement for the disbelievers.
وَ اِذَا كُنْتَ فِیْهِمْ فَاَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلٰوةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَآىِٕفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَكَ وَ لْیَاْخُذُوْۤا اَسْلِحَتَهُمْ ۫ فَاِذَا سَجَدُوْا فَلْیَكُوْنُوْا مِنْ وَّرَآىِٕكُمْ ۪ وَ لْتَاْتِ طَآىِٕفَةٌ اُخْرٰی لَمْ یُصَلُّوْا فَلْیُصَلُّوْا مَعَكَ وَ لْیَاْخُذُوْا حِذْرَهُمْ وَ اَسْلِحَتَهُمْ ۚ وَدَّ الَّذِیْنَ كَفَرُوْا لَوْ تَغْفُلُوْنَ عَنْ اَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَ اَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَیَمِیْلُوْنَ عَلَیْكُمْ مَّیْلَةً وَّاحِدَةً ؕ وَ لَا جُنَاحَ عَلَیْكُمْ اِنْ كَانَ بِكُمْ اَذًی مِّنْ مَّطَرٍ اَوْ كُنْتُمْ مَّرْضٰۤی اَنْ تَضَعُوْۤا اَسْلِحَتَكُمْ ۚ وَ خُذُوْا حِذْرَكُمْ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اَعَدَّ لِلْكٰفِرِیْنَ عَذَابًا مُّهِیْنًا (۱۰۱)
4-102a: Being in battle and being on the battlefield are two different conditions: In a state of war when there is fear of the enemy, one situation is as described in: فَإِنۡ خِفۡتُمۡ فَرِجَالاً أَوۡ رُكۡبَانً۬اۖ (But if you are in danger (say your prayer) on foot or on horseback) (2:239). As shown in 2-239a this is a condition of fear in which it is not possible to congregate. The second situation is the one described here. In this situation, it is stated: فَاَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلٰوةَ (…and leadest the prayer for them), that is the situation is such that a congregation can be formed for prayer. However, there is fear of the enemy and it is obvious that the enemy will not waste this opportunity to attack when the Muslims are engaged in prayer. This is the situation where because the two forces are arrayed in the battlefield and there is fear of an enemy attack but the battle has not begun in which even this much will not be possible. This is the reason why in this situation it is allowed even to put down your arms in case of rain etcetera.
Prayer in the battlefield during the Dhat al-Riqa expedition: There is difference of opinion in the narrations regarding the actual nature of the prayer. The preference though is for the narration that Bukhari, Muslim, Imam Hambal and the other three authentic Books of Hadith have accepted. According to this version, Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud and some other Companions held that in the Dhat al-Riqa expedition the Holy Prophet led the prayer thus: One group congregated behind the Prophet and lined up for prayer while the other group stood opposite the enemy. When the Prophet had finished one rakah, he kept standing but the group proceeded to say another rakah on their own and then left to relieve the second group that was facing the enemy. The second group then lined up behind the Prophet and he proceeded to finish the second rakah and when he said the salam, the congregation got up and finished another rakah on their own. In some narrations, there is mention of just one rakah, that is the congregants just said one rakah and finished their prayer.
4-103 So when you have finished the prayer, remember Allah standing and sitting and reclining. But when you are secure (from danger) keep up (regular) prayer. Prayer indeed has been enjoined on the believers at fixed times.a
فَاِذَا قَضَیْتُمُ الصَّلٰوةَ فَاذْكُرُوا اللّٰهَ قِیٰمًا وَّ قُعُوْدًا وَّ عَلٰی جُنُوْبِكُمْ ۚ فَاِذَا اطْمَاْنَنْتُمْ فَاَقِیْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ ۚ اِنَّ الصَّلٰوةَ كَانَتْ عَلَی الْمُؤْمِنِیْنَ كِتٰبًا مَّوْقُوْتًا (۱۰۴)
4-103a: Here this kind of prayer is likened to a missed prayer and the peace time prayer to a regular prayer because keeping up prayer requires fulfilling all the conditions of prayer which cannot be fulfilled in a state of fear. This goes to show that the only difference between shortening of prayer in a journey when there is a state of fear and shortening in a journey when there is peace is that in a state of fear all conditions cannot be satisfied and so this is a different kind of shortening, but there is no shortening of rakahs. This is the reason that the Quran has used a general word for shortening of prayer and has not mentioned a reduction in the number of rakahs. Thus, offering one rakah in congregation instead of two is also in a way shortening of prayer and if it is taken that only one rakah is offered then this is obviously a shortening.
4-104 And be not weak-hearted in pursuit of the enemy. If you suffer they (too) suffer as you suffer, and you hope from Allah what they hope not. And Allah is ever Knowing, Wise.
وَ لَا تَهِنُوْا فِی ابْتِغَآءِ الْقَوْمِ ؕ اِنْ تَكُوْنُوْا تَاْلَمُوْنَ فَاِنَّهُمْ یَاْلَمُوْنَ كَمَا تَاْلَمُوْنَ ۚ وَ تَرْجُوْنَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ مَا لَا یَرْجُوْنَ ؕ وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ عَلِیْمًا حَكِیْمًا۠ (۱۰۴)
4-104a: The connection of this verse with the previous text is that there is mention in the previous verse to safeguard oneself from the enemy even at the time of prayer and the mention here is that it is necessary to pursue the enemy because if the enemy is pursued vigorously then this in itself is a means of protection. The statement that you hope from Allah what they hope not is a reference to those clear prophecies in which the news was given of the ultimate victory of Islam, and which was a source of great strength for the Muslims.
Bayan-ul-Quran 