has no basis in revealed law, language, custom or reason. People generally do not know the measured distances across the land, so something needed by Muslims generally must not be made dependent on something they do not know. No one surveyed the land during the lifetime of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, determine its distances in miles or parasangs.

A man may leave his village for the open country to gather firewood and remain away for two or three days, thus being a traveller even if the distance is less than a mile. This differs from someone who goes out and returns the same day, who is not thereby a traveller: the former takes food and water with him, unlike the latter. Thus, covering a short distance over a long period constitutes travel, whereas covering a long distance over a short period does not.

Travel, then, is determined by the activity that gives it that name. An activity necessarily takes time. When the activity and its duration are prolonged, so that a person needs the food and water that a traveller requires, he is called a traveller even if the distance is not great. When the activity and its duration are so brief that he needs neither food nor water, it is not called travel, even if the distance is great.

The fundamental consideration, therefore, is the activity called travel, and an activity necessarily takes time. What must be considered is the activity that constitutes travel, and this can only take place out in the open, away from settled places. This is something people recognize through their customary practices. It has no fixed definition in revealed law or language; rather, whatever they call travel is travel.