When will a Prisoner Perform Qasr salaah? Print
SALAAH.. The Book of Prayer - Salaah of the Musafir [Traveller]

When will a Prisoner Perform Qasr salaah?

Q: Salaah-495: The government has imprisoned my brother together with fifty to sixty' other Muslims. The sitaution is such that they are shifted from prison to prison with no idea of how long they will be staying at each prison before being released. When will they be Musaafir and when not? Will they be Muqeem at any prison when they have a fairly good idea that they will be there for fifteen or more days? lf they are Musaafirs at any place and did not perform Qasr salaah, will they need to repeat their salaah or not? There are also prisoners who are serving a specified sentence Will they be regarded as Musaafir or not? Which salaahs are to be performed as Qasr?

Answer: A prisoner will also be regarded to be a Musaafir when he travels 48 miles (88km) or more. If Qasr is necessary and he performs four Rakaahs in error, the error may be corrected by performing Sajdah Sahw. If he does not perform Sajdah Sahw, he will have to repeat the salaah. He will also have to start the salaah all over again if he forgets to sit in the Qa'dah. If the prisoner is a Musaafir, he will perform the salaah in full only if his jailors specify that they will be staying fifteen or more days at a particular place. Until this does to happen, he will continue performing Qasr Having an idea about the duration of the stay will not make a difference.

It is the Fardh of the Zuhr. Asr and Isha salaahs that will be shortened into two Rakaahs. The Fardh of Fajr and Maghrib will not be shortened and the Witr and all Sunan and Nawaafil salaahs will also not be shortened And Allaah knows best what is most correct.

Fatawa Rahimiyyah vol.2