[Q 636] Ruling on Qasr Distance

QUESTION:

It is 56 miles from my home to a destination but is 58 miles back to home, should i be praying kasr or not?

ANSWER:

Firstly, understand that the limit of Shar‘i Masafat (legal travel distance) is 57.5 miles (92 kilometres). If a person sets out intending to travel less than this distance, then he will not be regarded as a Musafir (traveller).

Likewise, what is meant by this distance is the distance between the boundaries of both cities. If, due to the vastness of the cities, the distance from one’s house to the place in the other city amounts to the Shar‘i Masafat, but the distance between the boundaries of the two cities does not amount to the Shar‘i Masafat, then even in this case he will not be regarded as a Musafir.

In this distance, consideration is given to the route by which one is travelling; the return route is not considered. Therefore, if your outgoing journey is 56 miles (which is less than the Shar‘i Masafat), then you will not be a Musafir, even though the return journey is 58 miles, because in the rulings related to a Musafir, the return route is not taken into consideration.

It is mentioned in Fatawa Ridawiyyah:

“If one intends to travel continuously to a place that is 57.5 miles away from his location — meaning that destination itself is intended and not any place in between — and he does not intend to stay there for a complete fifteen days, then he will perform Qasr; otherwise, he will pray the full Salah.”

(Fatawa Ridawiyyah, vol. 8, p. 270, Raza Foundation)

It is mentioned in Binayah:

“وفي المفيد، و التحفة: المقيم إذا نوى السفر و مشى أو ركب لا يصير مسافرا ما لم يخرج عن عمران”
(Binayah, vol. 3, p. 15, Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut)

Answered by: Mubashir Attari (AskMufti Scholar)
Verified by: Mufti Sajid Attari
Translated answer
Date: 21st May 2026.