The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 255
PT. 5 AN-NISA' CH. 4 وَإِذَا كُنْتَ فِيْهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ الصَّلوةَ And when thou art among. 103 them, and leadest the Prayer for فَلْتَقُمْ طَابِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا them, let a party of them stand قف أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا فَلْيَكُونُوا مِنْ with thee and let them take their arms. And when they have them go to your rear, and let وَرَابِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَائِفَةٌ أُخْرَى لَمْ performed their prostrations, et يُصَلُّوا فَلْيُصَلُّوا مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا another party, who have not yet prayed, come forward and pray number of Rak'ats, but of the quality, i. e. time passed in Prayer, which, in other words, means saying the Prayers quickly without lessening the number of Rak'ats or reducing the additional prayers which one ordinarily offers in the prescribed Prayers in one's own words. " This view is endorsed by Mujahid, Dahhak, and other authorities; and Imam Muhammad bin Isma'il also expresses the same view, for in Bukhari he couples this verse with the next one, which deals with the subject of congregational Prayers in time of fear, under the common heading of Salatul-Khauf, Prayers in time of fear). (i. e. Prayer to be said on a journey is two Rak'ats; the Prayer of the two 'Ids is also two Rak‘ats each; similarly, the Friday Prayer is two Rak'ats; this is the full number of Rak'ats without having undergone any curtailment. We learnt this from the very lips of the Holy Prophet" (Musnad, Nasa'i, & Majah). The number of Rak'ats whether the Prayer is performed in a state of fear or when one is on a journey is not expressly dealt with in the Quran. It is found detailed in Sunnah or Hadith, which confine the number of Rak'ats to two in the case of those Prayers which ordinarily have four Rak'ats. For instance, there is a saying to the effect that Khalid bin Sa'id once asked Ibn 'Umar where was (Prayer of the wayfarer) mentioned in the Quran, which prescribes only the The above view is further supported by the following traditions: 'A'ishah is reported to have said, "At first the number of Rak'ats enjoined was two, whether one was on a journey or at home. Later on, however, the number was increased to four for those staying at home, but the number of Rak'ats said on a journey continued to be the same as before" (Bukhari, ch. on Salat). Again ‘Umar says, "The | Salat). 695 (Prayer in time of fear). To this Ibn 'Umar replied that in this respect they did what they saw the Holy Prophet doing, i. e. saying two Rak'ats of Prayer while on a journey (Jarir, v. 144, also see Nasa'i, ch. on