—as when they went out to Qubā’, al-‘Awālī and Uhud, or came in from these places for Friday prayer and other purposes.

Many of Medina’s dwellings were more than a mile from his mosque, for the sanctuary of Medina measures one barīd (a unit of distance) by one barīd. Because of the distance, two of his Companions would take turns coming in, one on one day and the other on the next. Thus, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb and his Ansārī companion would each come in on alternate days.

Ibn ‘Umar’s statement:

“If I went out a mile, I would shorten my prayers,”

is like his statement:

“I travel for a short part of the day and shorten my prayers.”

By this, he may mean the portion he has covered of his intended journey. His meaning would then be: “I do not delay shortening my prayers until I have covered a long distance.” This is the position of the vast majority of scholars, apart from those who say that someone who sets out during the day may not shorten his prayers until nightfall. Against them, the scholars have cited the fact that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed four rak‘ahs for the noon prayer in Medina and two rak‘ahs for the afternoon prayer at Dhū al-Hulayfah. Anas’s report could also be understood in this sense, but his own practice points to the first interpretation.

Alternatively, Ibn ‘Umar may mean that whoever travels may shorten his prayers, even if his intended journey is only this distance, provided that he is in open country and thus travelling, rather than merely moving between dwellings. Everyone agrees that someone doing the latter is not a traveller. If such a person is deemed a traveller, then, supposing he travelled ten cubits less than a mile, he would still be a traveller. Thus, defining travel by distance