First: The concept of travel and the traveller. The word al-sufr is the plural of sāfir, while al-musāfirūn is the plural of musāfir; both words denote travellers. A person is called a musāfir (traveller) because he lifts the veil of seclusion from his face, leaves the settled dwellings of home, abandons his place of ease, and ventures out into the open land. The journey itself is called safar because it lays bare the faces and characters of those who undertake it, revealing what had previously been concealed of them (1). Hence, travel—meaning the traversing of a distance—received its name because it uncovers people’s inner qualities. The Arabs say, “safarat al-marʾatu ʿan wajhiha” when a woman unveils her face. In legal terms, travel is to depart from the built-up area of one’s residence intending a destination far enough to permit the shortening of the prayer (2).

Second: The categories of travel are as follows:
1 – Prohibited travel: this is to travel for the purpose of doing something Allah has forbidden or