at Minā, whether they are from Mecca or elsewhere. Undoubtedly, this is the established Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. This is also one of the positions within the schools of al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad.

Those who maintain that only pilgrims who have travelled the distance required for shortening prayers may shorten them hold a position contrary to the Sunnah. Weaker still is the position of those who permit combining prayers only for those who have travelled that distance, for it is well known that there are grounds for combining prayers other than a long journey.

Thus, the position that combining prayers is permissible on a short journey, just as it is on a long one, is stronger than the position that permits it only on a long journey, not a short one. Those Iraqis and others who held these views supposed that “the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed at Minā and then said: ‘People of Mecca, complete your prayers, for we are travellers.’”

This report is falsely attributed to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, according to the agreement of hadith scholars. What is actually reported in the Sunan collections is that he said this when he prayed in Mecca during the campaign of the Conquest. They have likewise transmitted this statement from ʿUmar.

It is related that when al-Rashīd performed Hajj, he instructed Abū Yūsuf to lead the people in prayer. After pronouncing the concluding salutation, Abū Yūsuf said: “People of Mecca, complete your prayers, for we are travellers.” One of the Meccans said to him: “Do you say this to us, when the Sunnah originated among us?”

Abū Yūsuf said: “Such is your understanding of jurisprudence! You spoke while you were still in prayer.”