Dear Hadi,
I live in the European side of Istanbul, Turkey.
I was recently informed that if I go to visit someone in the Asian side of Istanbul that I can pray Qasr (Shortened) because I am crossing CONTINENTS... Please confirm.
Ja zakallah khair
Dear Qasr Question,
Thank you for your question.
Crossing continents is often a significant transition in travel, but in and of itself is not sufficient foundation for praying qasr (shortened) prayers.
While the major schools of Islamic jurisprudence all allow for qasr prayers, the relevant factor to them is not crossing from one continent to the other, but actually the distance involved in the travel, with the schools differing as to the distance involved that would permit qasr. This distance ranges from approximately 44 km (27 miles) (Shia) to 81 km (50 miles) (Hanbali, Maliki, and Shafi’) to 121 km (75 miles) (Hanafi). Based on this, the fact that you are crossing continents is not the main issue. Rather, your decision to pray qasr should be based on the distance of your journey, and you have a choice of distance parameters to choose from.
Although not raised by your question, another relevant issue is how long you will be staying to visit your friend. The license of qasr is overall for the process of traveling, to make the prayers easier. If you will be settled in one place for “a while,” then the license to pray qasr drops. The major schools of thought also vary the definition of “a while,” i.e., on the duration for which one can pray qasr. This varies from 4 days (Maliki and Shafi’) to 10 days (Shia) to 15 days (Hanafi). There is also a well-known narration in Sahih al Bukhari where the companion Ibn Abbas narrates, “The Prophet once stayed for nineteen days and prayed shortened prayers. So when we traveled (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.” Again, you can choose from among these. If it is just a short trip to see your friend, we think there is no problem to pray qasr (provided you are traveling a sufficient distance, as noted above), and God knows best.
One final point to address (again not asked by you, but for the benefit of our readers) is the issue of some people feeling that they are doing less by praying qasr, and so they do not want to do it. We caution against this attitude, and note that Umar ibn Al-Khattab asked the Prophet regarding the qasr concession, since it is given in the Quran not for traveling in general, but in case of fear of being attacked while traveling, and the Prophet (pbuh) replied (in Sahih Muslim), “It is charity Allah has given to you, so accept His charity.” The Prophet’s reply is a statement of God’s mercy, and is in keeping with another of his hadiths (reported in the collection of Ibn Hibban), “Verily, Allah loves for you to take His concessions, just as He loves you to fulfill His edicts.”
Thus, we note that the opinion of the major schools of thought is that shortening the prayers while traveling is a confirmed sunna of the Prophet (pbuh), and that, according to the scholars, the Prophet (pbuh) never offered the prayers in full while traveling. The scholars debate whether it is obligatory to shorten the prayers or just strongly preferrable, but we think the point is made.
We hope this helps.
In peace.