Third: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, travelled in Ramadan only for the campaigns of Badr and the Conquest of Mecca. None of his wives accompanied him at Badr, nor was ‘Ā’ishah with him. During the campaign of the Conquest, he fasted at the beginning of his journey and then broke his fast, contrary to what this fabricated hadith states.

Fourth: Whether ‘Ā’ishah performed ‘umrah with him is itself open to question.

Fifth: ‘Ā’ishah would not have fasted and offered her prayers in full throughout her journey to Mecca, departing from his practice without his permission. Rather, she would ask him for a ruling before acting, for undertaking such a thing without doing so is impermissible.

This mass-transmitted Sunnah thus establishes that the prayer during travel consists of two rak‘ahs, just as the prayer when not travelling consists of four. The number of rak‘ahs is learned only from the Prophet’s practice, peace and blessings be upon him, which he instituted for his community. This disproves the view held by some followers of Ahmad and al-Shāfi‘ī that four rak‘ahs are the norm and that two are merely a concession.

On this basis, they maintained that a person shortening the prayer must intend to shorten it at the outset of the prayer. This was stated by al-Shāfi‘ī and is also the view of al-Khiraqī, al-Qādī, and others.

Rather, the correct view is that of the majority of scholars, also preferred by Abū Bakr and others: shortening the prayer does not require a specific intention to do so. A traveller begins the prayer just as a person who is not travelling does. Indeed, even if