(6-5) Offering Voluntary Prayer on a Mount

When traveling, the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—would offer voluntary prayers on his mount, whichever direction it turned, indicating the movements of prayer with his head.

At times, when he traveled and wished to offer a voluntary prayer, he would turn his she-camel toward the qibla, pronounce the takbīr, and then pray wherever his mount took him.

The following reports support this:

Ibn Umar reported: “The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—would offer voluntary prayers on his mount, whichever direction it turned, and would also perform the witr prayer upon it; however, he would not perform the obligatory prayer upon it.” Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. (1)

Āmir ibn Rabīa reported: “I saw the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—offering voluntary prayers while riding, indicating the movements with his head, whichever direction his mount turned. The Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—did not do this during the obligatory prayer.” Reported by al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

Anas ibn Mālik reported: “When the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—wished to offer a voluntary prayer on his mount, he would face the qibla and pronounce the takbīr for prayer. He would then let his mount proceed freely and pray whichever direction it took him.” Reported by Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd. (2)

I say: According to some scholars, the mention of travel in these hadiths is not intended as a restriction; rather, it merely describes the circumstances in which this occurred and therefore carries no restrictive implication. Perhaps the hadith of Anas confirms