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Is it not permissible for the debtor to shorten the prayer during travel except with the permission of his creditor?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A debtor who is capable of paying his immediate debt is not permitted to travel except with the creditor's permission. If he disobeys, there are two opinions regarding the permissibility of shortening the prayer (qasr) for him: the Hanafis and the Zahiris permitted it, while the majority disallowed it, stipulating that the traveler must not be sinful in his journey, because concessions are not granted for acts of disobedience. If seeking permission is not obligatory, such as when the debtor is in financial straits or the debt is deferred, then shortening the prayer is permissible. Ibn Qudamah elaborates on the permissibility of preventing the debtor from traveling, stating that the creditor has the right to prevent him if the debt becomes due before the debtor returns from his journey, unless the debtor provides a guarantor or a pledge. However, if the debt does not become due until after the debtor's return, the creditor generally does not have the right to prevent him, except in the case of travel for jihad, for fear of losing the right.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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