its form. For this reason, He made it contingent upon two conditions: travel and fear. Travel permits only shortening the number of units, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Allah has relieved the traveller of fasting and half the prayer.” Accordingly, the Messenger of Allah’s mass-transmitted Sunnah—whose transmission from him the Muslim community unanimously accepts—was that “he would perform a four-unit prayer as two units while travelling.” He never once performed it as four units while travelling, nor did Abu Bakr or Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, whether during Hajj, Umrah, or jihad.

Fear, however, permits shortening the form of the prayer, as Allah the Exalted said in the continuation of the passage: “When you are among them and establish the prayer for them, let one group of them stand with you, taking their weapons. Once they have prostrated, let them withdraw to your rear, and let another group who have not yet prayed come and pray with you, taking their precautions and their weapons” [al-Nisā’: 102] [al-Nisā’: 102]. He thus described the fear prayer, namely the prayer at Dhāt al-Riqāʿ, when the enemy was in the direction of the qibla. In this prayer, “they would pray behind him; when he rose for the second unit, they would separate from him and complete the second unit by themselves, then go to the battle lines of their companions.” This accords with His words: “Once they have prostrated, let them withdraw to your rear” [al-Nisā’: 102]. He assigned the prostration specifically to them, showing that they performed it on their own. He then said: “And let another group who have not yet prayed come and pray with you” [al-Nisā’: 102], showing that they performed it [with him as followers].

This form of prayer entails dividing the followers into groups, the first group separating from the imam, and the latter group rising before the imam concludes the prayer with the salām and completing one unit by themselves.

Then the Exalted said: “When you have completed the prayer, remember Allah while standing, sitting, and lying on your sides. Then, when you are secure, establish the prayer” [al-Nisā’: 103] [al-Nisā’: 103]. Thus, after they had attained safety, He commanded them to establish