The second view is that it refers to reducing the actions performed in prayer: the prayer offered in fear involves fewer actions than the prayer offered in safety, and fear permits this reduction. This is countered, however, by the fact that the prayer of fear is permissible both while resident and while travelling, whereas the verse permits shortening while travelling.

The third view—and it is the soundest—is that the verse refers both to reducing the number of rakʿahs and to reducing the actions performed. This is why it makes shortening conditional upon travel and fear. When travel and fear occur together, shortening in both respects is permitted. Travel alone permits only a reduction in the number of rakʿahs, while fear alone permits only a reduction in the actions performed.

Those who hold that the obligatory prayer in fear and during travel consists of one rakʿah—as in one of the two positions within Ahmad’s school, which is also the position of Ibn Hazm—mean when fear and travel occur together. Thus, travel and fear together permit shortening the prayer to one rakʿah, as Abū Dāwūd al-Tayālisī narrated:

Al-Masʿūdī—namely, ʿAbd al-Rahmān ibn ʿAbd Allāh—narrated to us from Yazīd al-Faqīr, who said:

“I asked Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh about the two rakʿahs during travel: ‘Should I shorten them?’ Jābir replied: ‘No. The two rakʿahs during travel do not constitute a shortened prayer. Shortening means praying one rakʿah during combat.’”

In Sahīh Muslim, Ibn ʿAbbās said:

“Allah prescribed prayer through your Prophet: four rakʿahs while resident, two rakʿahs while travelling, and one rakʿah in fear.”

It was stated by