Traveler's Prayer: Shortening Prayers (Qasr) on a Journey (90 km, 15 Days)
Being a traveler (safar, seferîlik in Turkish) is a religious status that brings ease in certain acts of worship during a journey. Praying four-rak'ah obligatory prayers as two rak'ahs (qasr) is the best-known ruling of travel. Who counts as a traveler depends on criteria of distance and length of stay, and these criteria differ among the schools of thought.
This article summarizes the explanation of Diyanet's Religious Affairs High Council and the comparisons of the schools in the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam. For your personal situation, you should consult Diyanet.
For information only. For religious rulings, consult the Diyanet (Alo 190 Fatwa Line).
Who is a traveler according to Diyanet?
In Diyanet's practice, a person who sets out from their original home town to go temporarily 90 kilometers or farther, and who intends to stay at the destination for less than 15 days according to the Hanafi school, is a traveler. The travel rulings begin to apply once the journey has started and the person has passed the limits of their place of residence.
According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Hanafi fatwa criterion is 18 farsakh, which is about 99 kilometers. Views of 15 farsakh (about 83 km) and 21 farsakh also exist. The other three schools use the criterion of 4 barid, which is about 88 kilometers. In Turkey, Diyanet's working criterion is 90 kilometers.
Criteria according to the schools
| Topic | Hanafi (Diyanet practice) | Shafi'i, Maliki, Hanbali |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | Diyanet practice: 90 km (18 farsakh, about 99 km, according to TDV) | About 88 km (4 barid) |
| Length of stay | Intention to stay less than 15 days | Generally 4 days (for Hanbalis, more than 4 days or more than 20 prayers) |
| Qasr (praying a 4-rak'ah obligatory prayer as 2) | Wajib; praying 4 rak'ahs is makruh (disliked) | A concession and preferable (for Malikis, a sunnah mu'akkadah) |
| Jam' (combining two prayers) | No combining while traveling | Permissible while traveling |
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, entry "Sefer" (fiqh), and the fatwa of Diyanet's Religious Affairs High Council.
How is qasr performed?
Qasr means praying the four-rak'ah obligatory prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, Isha) as two rak'ahs. The Fajr and Maghrib prayers and the Witr prayer do not change while traveling. In the Hanafi school, qasr is not a concession but the ruling; a traveler prays the four-rak'ah obligatory prayers as two rak'ahs. If a traveler intends to stay in one place for 15 days or more, they are considered a resident (muqim) and pray their prayers in full. For detailed cases, such as following a resident imam, please consult Diyanet.
Jam' (combining two prayer times)
The Hanafi school does not consider combining prayers permissible while traveling. The Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools do. Diyanet states that people who have no opportunity to pray at their workplace may, in a case of necessity, combine Dhuhr with Asr or Maghrib with Isha; it also stresses that this is not a normal rule.
Details of combining prayers
Jam' means praying two prayers within a single time. Praying Dhuhr and Asr in the time of Dhuhr is called advancing (taqdim), and praying them in the time of Asr is called delaying (ta'khir); the same applies to Maghrib and Isha. In the schools that permit combining while traveling, this is a concession tied to the hardship of the journey. The Hanafi school does not allow combining while traveling; so in Turkey, under Diyanet's practice, a person on a journey prays each prayer in its own time, shortening the four-rak'ah ones.
The case of necessity that Diyanet mentions for people who have no opportunity to pray at work is independent of travel and is an exceptional situation. The same fatwa also stresses that a busy work schedule alone is not an excuse for postponing prayer.
Prayer times differ when you travel
Because Turkey uses a single time zone (UTC+3), the sun rises and sets earlier in the eastern provinces than in the western ones; while traveling, prayer times change according to where you are. The table below shows how the times differ across provinces from east to west on 13 October 2026.
| Province | Imsak (Fajr) | Dhuhr | Maghrib |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edirne | 05:51 | 13:05 | 18:43 |
| İzmir | 05:51 | 13:03 | 18:44 |
| Ankara | 05:27 | 12:40 | 18:20 |
| Van | 04:45 | 11:58 | 17:39 |
If you have a trip planned, you can find the times of your destination city on the province pages. Keep in mind that calculations are made for the coordinates of the provincial center, and there may be small differences of minutes in districts.
Friday prayer and being a traveler
Friday prayer is not obligatory for a traveler; if they pray it, it takes the place of the Dhuhr prayer. Someone who is traveling and wants to attend Friday prayer should know this ruling.
Homeland, residence and intention
Three concepts are decisive in the rulings of travel: the original homeland (the place where a person lives and has settled), the destination, and the length of time one intends to stay there. In Diyanet's explanation, a person who intends to stay less than 15 days is treated as a traveler at the destination; if the intention reaches 15 days or more, the rulings of residency apply. Whether the intention is clear at the start of the journey determines how many rak'ahs you pray. In unclear situations (for example, if the return date is not set), it is appropriate to consult Alo 190 for details.
Points to keep in mind in practice
- If you run into a situation that is not clear about how distance is measured or whether a journey counts as travel, consult the muftiate or the Alo 190 Fatwa Line.
- The intention to stay matters: if you intend to stay less than 15 days you are considered a traveler; if your intention changes, the situation changes too.
- For prayers you could not pray while traveling, you can look at our guide to make-up (qada) prayers, and you can consult Diyanet for details.
Frequently asked questions
After how many kilometers is prayer shortened?
In Diyanet's practice, the rulings of travel apply to a journey of 90 kilometers or more; the person must intend to stay less than 15 days at the destination.
After how many days does a traveler become a resident?
According to the Hanafi school, a traveler is considered a resident if they intend to stay in one place for 15 days or more. In the Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbali schools this period is about 4 days.
Is Friday prayer performed while traveling?
Friday prayer is not obligatory for a traveler. If they pray it, it takes the place of the Dhuhr prayer.
Sources
- Diyanet Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu, Umreye gidenler: seferîlik hükümleri açısından Mekke ve Medine
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Sefer (fıkıh) maddesi
- Diyanet Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu, İş sebebiyle öğle, ikindi ve akşam namazları kılınmayarak…
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Cuma maddesi
For information only. For religious rulings, consult the Diyanet (Alo 190 Fatwa Line).
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