the travel to which the Lawgiver attached the ruling. An example is the journey of the people of Mecca to Arafah. This distance is one barīd, and the Sunnah establishes that shortening and combining prayers are permissible on such a journey. A barīd is half a day’s travel on camelback or on foot, and a quarter of the distance of two days and two nights. This is what is sometimes called the distance permitting shortened prayers, and someone travelling that distance can return the same day.

As for shorter distances—if the distance permitting shortened prayers is defined by measurement—it has been said that one may shorten one’s prayers over a distance of one mile. Ibn Umar is reported to have said:

“If I travelled one mile, I would shorten my prayers.”

Ibn Hazm said:

“We have found no one who shortened his prayers over a distance of less than one mile, while Ibn Umar and others are known to have shortened theirs over this distance. The Lawgiver set no limit for travel, so we adopted this position in adherence to the unrestricted wording of the Sunnah. We have found no one who shortened his prayers over a distance of less than one mile.”

Yet, according to his own principles, this does not constitute a consensus. If the apparent meaning of the text includes shorter distances, it should not matter to him that he knows of no one who adopted that view, as is his usual approach in similar cases. Furthermore, Ibn Umar’s statement does not say that he would not shorten his prayers over a shorter distance. It is also established that Ibn Umar would not shorten his prayers on a journey of one or two days. Either his statements conflict, or they must be understood as referring to different circumstances.

The discussion concerns two points:

“The First Point”

Whoever undertakes a journey like that of the people of Mecca to Arafāt