Zād al-Maʿād - Ibn al-Qayyim - (1/589)

Zād al-MaʿādIbn al-Qayyim

in this by one of the narrators, who said: “He would shorten the prayers and offer them in full”—meaning the Prophet himself.

There is disagreement over the interpretation she adopted. It has been said that she thought shortening the prayers was conditional upon both fear and travel, so that when fear ceased, the grounds for shortening ceased as well. This interpretation is incorrect, for the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, travelled in complete safety (1), yet shortened his prayers. The verse had puzzled ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb and others, so he asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, about it. He gave him a fully satisfying answer, explaining that this (2) was a charity from Allah and a law He had prescribed for the Muslim community. This clarified that the ruling implied by the verse was not intended, and that there was no blame in shortening the prayers, whether one was safe or afraid. At most, this amounts to restricting the scope of that implication or setting it aside.

It may also be said that the verse provides for shortening in two senses: easing the prayer’s essential acts and reducing the number of prayer units by two. It makes this conditional upon two circumstances: travelling through the land and fear. When both are present, both forms of shortening are permitted, so the prayer of fear is offered with both its units and its essential acts reduced. When neither is present, and people are safe and not travelling, neither form of shortening applies, so they offer a full and complete prayer. If only one of the two grounds is present, only its corresponding form of shortening applies.

Thus, when there is fear but no travel, the essential acts are reduced while the full number of prayer units is retained. This is one form of shortening, but not the unqualified shortening referred to in the verse. When there is travel but no fear, the number of prayer units is reduced while the essential acts are performed in full, and the prayer is offered as in conditions of safety. This, too, is one form of shortening, but not unqualified shortening. Such a prayer may be called shortened because its number of units is reduced, or it may be called complete because its essential acts are performed in full and it does not fall under the shortening mentioned in the verse. The former

(1) ك reads: “āminan …” (“in safety …”). Some copyists found the wording puzzling and changed it to “āminan wa-kāna” (“in safety, and he was”), as in the printed editions. (2) All manuscripts except م, ق, مب, and ن read: “hādhihi” (“this,” feminine).

فيه بعض الرواة، فقال: كان يقصُر ويُتِمُّ، أي هو. والتأويل الذي تأولته قد اختُلِف فيه، فقيل: ظنَّت أن القصر مشروط بالخوف والسفر، فإذا زال الخوف زال سبب القصر. وهذا التأويل غير صحيح، فإنَّ النبيَّ ﷺ سافر آمَنَ ما كان (١) يقصر الصلاة. والآية قد أشكلت على عمر بن الخطاب وغيره فسأل عنها رسول الله ﷺ، فأجابه بالشفاء وأنَّ هذا (٢) صدقة من الله، وشرعٌ شرَعه للأمة. وكان هذا بيان أنَّ حكمَ المفهوم غير مراد، وأنّ الجُناح مرتفع في قصر الصلاة عن الآمن والخائف. وغايته أنه نوع تخصيص للمفهوم أو رفعٌ له. وقد يقال: إنَّ الآية اقتضت قصرًا يتناول قصر الأركان بالتخفيف وقصر العدد بنقصان ركعتين، وقيَّد ذلك بأمرين: الضرب في الأرض والخوف. فإذا وُجِد الأمران أبيح القصرانِ، فيصلُّون صلاة الخوف مقصورًا عددُها وأركانُها. وإن انتفى الأمران فكانوا آمنين مقيمين انتفى القصران، فيصلُّون صلاةً تامّةً كاملةً. وإن وُجد أحدُ السببين ترتَّب عليه قصرُه وحدَه. فإن وُجِد الخوف والإقامة قُصِرت الأركان واستُوفيَ العدد. وهذا نوع قصر، وليس بالقصر المطلق في الآية. وإن وُجِد السفر والأمن قُصِرَ العدد واستُوفِيت الأركان، وصُلِّيَت صلاة أمن. وهذا أيضًا نوع قصر، وليس بالقصر المطلق. وقد تسمَّى هذه الصلاة مقصورةً باعتبار نقصان العدد، وقد تسمَّى تامَّةً باعتبار إتمام أركانها، وأنها لم تدخل في قصر الآية. والأول

(١) ك: «آمنًا ... »، وقد أشكل على بعض النساخ، فغيَّره إلى «آمنًا وكان» كما في النسخ المطبوعة. (٢) ما عدا م، ق، مب، ن: «هذه».