of people into it in multitudes, until Islam came to cover every corner of the inhabited world and the whole religion was devoted to Allah alone. May Allah be pleased with them and fully satisfy them, and may He grant the Muslims success in emulating them and following in their footsteps so that they may restore Islam’s honour, strength, and invincibility. He is surely able to do so. May Allah’s blessings be upon our Prophet Muḥammad.
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The fear prayer (ṣalāt al-khāwf) is legislated whenever its cause is present, whether one is at home or on a journey. It is a concession for the ummah, an aid to them in combat, and a means to keep the prayer in congregation and within its prescribed time.
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Extensive movement undertaken for the benefit of the prayer itself or for the necessities of battle does not invalidate the prayer.
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Great care must be taken to perform the prayer on time and in congregation. Permission was given to offer it in this special manner precisely to safeguard these two matters.
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This hadith offers the strongest proof of the importance of praying at its appointed time and in congregation. For the sake of preserving the time and the congregation, a number of normally obligatory pillars and duties were set aside, and considerable movement—back and forth—was overlooked. How, then, can we be lax about the time or the congregation when we are in safety and ease? Truly, this is astonishing and shows a lack of understanding of the religion.
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In this form of prayer all of the combatants pray as followers, equal with their commander, and strict justice is observed among them in the performance of the prayer. This yields a tremendous benefit: it makes them feel that they are a single ummah, one unified hand. It gathers their word, unites their ranks, reconciles their hearts, and instils in them complete solidarity. For that reason many deviations from normal prayer movements were excused in this context.