This, then, is the reasoning relied upon by those who hold that shortening the prayers during such a journey is impermissible, because the journey itself is prohibited.

Among those who declared it forbidden were Shaykh and Imam Abū Muhammad al-Juwaynī of the Shāfi‘ī school and Shaykh Abū al-Wafā’ Ibn ‘Aqīl of the Hanbalī school. This is also the position that al-Qādī ‘Iyād of the Mālikī school indicated he preferred. The hadiths recommending visits to graves are understood to concern visits that do not involve undertaking a journey or riding mounts, thereby reconciling the two sets of reports.

It might also be argued that no other hadith can stand in opposition to the hadith,

“Journeys are not undertaken,”

because it does not equal it in rank, the latter belonging to the highest category of authentic hadith. And Allah knows best.

I have been informed that the respondent has suffered harm and been subjected to pressure. This is something that bewilders the discerning, astonishes the intelligent, and fills them with troubling doubts. His answer to this question sets out the disagreement among the scholars; it does not entail any disparagement of the righteous or the prophets.

Acting according to the purport of his words—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him—in a hadith whose authentic attribution to him is agreed upon represents the utmost adherence to his commands and prohibitions. Departing from this is something to beware of, and there is no doubt about that. If this is so, what blame can attach to someone who, when asked about an issue, mentions