one barīd—four farsakhs.

For this reason, Mālik and some of Ahmad’s followers, such as Abū al-Khattāb in The Five Acts of Worship, held that the residents of Mecca may shorten their prayers at ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah. This is the correct view, even though it differs from the explicitly reported positions of the three imams: Ahmad, al-Shāfi‘ī, and Abū Hanīfah.

Another group of Ahmad’s followers, along with other scholars, therefore held that prayers may be shortened on both long and short journeys, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed neither a minimum distance nor a duration for shortening prayers. Moreover, the residents of Mecca shortened their prayers behind him at ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah. This is the view of many earlier and later scholars, and it has the strongest support in the evidence. Nevertheless, the journey must be one that is customarily regarded as travel—for example, one for which a person takes provisions and sets out into the open country.

By contrast, someone in a place such as Damascus who moves from one of its villages amid the groves to another, as one goes from al-Sālihiyyah to Damascus, is not a traveller. Similarly, the Prophet’s city (peace and blessings be upon him) resembled a collection of neighbouring villages, with each community having its own palm groves, burial grounds, and mosques, in Qubā’ and elsewhere. Going out to Qubā’ was not considered travel. Hence, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions did not shorten their prayers on such outings. Allah Most High says:

“Among the Bedouins around you are hypocrites, and among the people of Medina as well.”

Thus, all its built-up areas fall within what is called Medina, while those outside its settled population belong to the Bedouins, the tent-dwellers. Someone moving from one part of Medina to another is not a traveller and does not shorten his prayers. These, however, are matters open to scholarly judgment.