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Shortening of the Prayer
1. When a person is travelling with the intention of proceeding fortyeight miles or
over from his home he should shorten the obligatory prayers of four units to two each.
The curtailment is applicable to the Noon (Zuhr) Prayer, the Mid-Afternoon (Asr)
Prayer, and the Evening (Isha) Prayer. The Early Morning (Fajr) Prayer and the
Sunset (Maghrib)Prayers remain unchanged
2. This advantage remains effective even after the traveler arrives at his destination, if
he does not intend to prolong his stay there for fifteen days or more. Otherwise, he
should offer the reducible prayers in their original and complete number of units
3. While traveling under these circumstances, he is exempt from all supererogatory
prayers (Sunnah) except the two Sunnah units of the Early Morning (Fajr) and Witr
which follows the Evening (Isha) prayers
There are some minor differences of interpretation between the various schools of law
regarding the travel distance and the travel duration
Times When Prayer is Forbidden
The Muslim is forbidden to offer either obligatory or supererogatory prayers at:
1. The time when the sun is rising;
2. The time when the sun is at its Zenith;
3. The time when the sun is setting;
4. The period of menstruation or confinement due to childbirth
5. The time of impurity, partial or complete
It must be clarified that if a person forgets, oversleeps or misses a prayer, he must
perform it immediately when he remembers regardless of the position of the sun.
Making Up For Delayed Prayers
1. As a rule, every Muslim, male or female, should offer the prayer in its due time.
Failing to do so is a punishable sin unless there is a reasonable excuse for delay
2. With the exception of women in confinement or menstruation and any who remain
insane or unconscious for some time, every Muslim must make up for his or her
delayed obligatory prayers
3. When making up for the delayed prayers one must offer them in their original form,
e.g., if they were due shortened they should be offered so and vice-versa
4. Order between the delayed prayers and between these and the present ones should
be maintained, i.e., the first in dueness is offered first unless the missed prayers are
too many to remember their exact dates, or the time available is not sufficient for both
missed and present prayers. In this case, the present prayer comes first and the missed
ones may be offered later. At any rate, the Muslim must make certain that his record
is clear to the best of his knowledge, and that there are no missed prayers.
The Taraweeh Prayers
These prayers are special characteristic of the month of Ramadan. They follow the
Evening (‘Isha’ ) Prayers. They consist of eight to twenty units (Rak’ ahs) offered two
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