Qur'an 4:101
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| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verse of Qasr |
| Sura | al-Nisa' (Qur'an 4) |
| Verse | 101 |
| Juz' | 5 |
| Page | 92 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| Topic | Jurisprudential |
| About | Ruling of prayer during travel |
Qur'an 4:101, knwon as the Verse of Qasr (Arabic: آیه قَصْر),[1] mandates that a traveler perform their prayer in a shortened form (qaṣr).[2] This ruling was revealed in conjunction with the subject of the Migration to Medina, which is discussed in the preceding verse.[3] According to Shi'a exegetes and jurists, the term "Qasr" in this verse refers specifically to the Traveler's Prayer, a ruling applicable solely to four-unit (rakʿat) prayers.[4]
| “ | وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۚ إِنَّ الْكَافِرِينَ كَانُوا لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا
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| “ | When you journey in the land, there is no sin upon you in shortening the prayers, if you fear that the faithless may trouble you; indeed the faithless are your manifest enemies.
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| — Qur'an 4:101 | ||
Some scholars interpret the phrase "there is no blame on you if you shorten the prayer" as a means to dispel a misconception among early Muslims. Having been accustomed to performing the full four-unit prayer, many believed that shortening it would render their worship deficient.[5] In a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a), this phrasing in Qur'an 4:101 is compared to Qur'an 2:158, where God articulates the ruling regarding Sa'y between Safa and Marwa in similar terms: "Indeed, Safa and Marwa are among the symbols of Allah... so there is no blame on him if he walks between them." The Imam clarifies that just as Sa'y is obligatory, shortening the prayer during travel is likewise obligatory.[6] A narration from Prophet Muhammad (s) further describes the shortened prayer during travel as a charity from God that believers should accept.[7]
Exegetes note that while the literal wording of the verse seems to condition Qasr on the presence of fear, this mention of fear (khawf) reflects the specific historical context in which most of the Prophet's (s) journeys were undertaken amidst the threat of enemies. Consequently, the reference to "fear" is understood as describing the predominant circumstances of that era—a common stylistic feature in the Qur'an—rather than establishing a permanent condition.[8] Some scholars have posited that the shortened prayer was initially legislated as the "Prayer of Fear" (Salat al-Khawf) and was subsequently generalized to cover all forms of travel.[9]
Notes
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, 1403 AH, vol. 86, p. 70; Khurāsānī, Āyih-hā-yi Nāmdār, 1388 Sh, p. 105.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 4, p. 94; Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 5, p. 61.
- ↑ Ibn ʿĀshūr, al-Taḥrīr wa al-tanwīr, 1420 AH, vol. 4, p. 239.
- ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 3, p. 53; Muqaddas al-Ardabilī, Zubdat al-bayān, p. 199; Javādī Āmulī, Tasnīm, 1389 Sh, vol. 20, p. 268.
- ↑ Sharīf Kāshānī, Zubdat al-tafāsīr, 1423 AH, vol. 2, p. 137.
- ↑ Al-Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, 1416 AH, vol. 2, p. 163.
- ↑ Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāwandī, Fiqh al-Qurʾān, 1405 AH, vol. 1, p. 152.
- ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 3, p. 101; al-Bayḍāwī, Anwār al-tanzīl, 1418 AH, vol. 2, p. 93; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1374 Sh, vol. 4, p. 95.
- ↑ Bahrāmpūr, Nasīm-i Ḥayāt, 1389 Sh, vol. 5, p. 160.
References
- Al-Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān. al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Bunyad-i Be'that, 1416 AH.
- Al-Bayḍāwī, ʿAbd Allāh b. ʿUmar. Anwār al-tanzīl wa asrār al-taʾwīl. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1418 AH.
- Al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Nasir Khusraw Publications, 1372 Sh.
- Bahrāmpūr, Abu l-Faḍl. Nasīm-i Ḥayāt. Qom: Hijrat Publications, 1389 Sh.
- Ibn ʿĀshūr, Muḥammad b. Ṭāhir. Tafsīr al-taḥrīr wa al-tanwīr. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Tārīkh al-ʿArabī, 1420 AH.
- Javādī Āmulī, ʿAbd Allāh. Tasnīm. Qom: Isra', 1389 Sh.
- Kāshānī, Mullā Fatḥ Allāh. Zubdat al-tafāsīr. Qom: Muʾassasat al-Maʿārif al-Islāmiyya, 1423 AH.
- Khurāsānī, ʿAlī. Āyih-hā-yi Nāmdār. Qom: Nashr-i Jamal, 1388 Sh.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir. Biḥār al-anwār. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Muqaddas al-Ardabilī, Aḥmad b. Muḥammad. Zubdat al-bayān fī aḥkām al-Qurʾān. Tehran: al-Maktaba al-Murtadawiyya, n.d.
- Quṭb al-Dīn al-Rāwandī, Saʿīd b. Hibat Allāh. Fiqh al-Qurʾān. Qom: Ayatollah Mar'ashi Najafi Library, 1405 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.