Firstly: Voluntary prayers are divided into:
• Unbounded voluntary prayers, such as night prayers (Qiyam Al-Layl), Duha prayer, and Tahiyyat Al-Masjid (greeting the mosque).
• Regular voluntary prayers that are associated with the obligatory prayers (rawatib) and were regularly performed by the Prophet (peace be upon him). These include two rak’ahs before Fajr prayer, four rak’ahs before Dhuhr prayer and two rak’ahs after it, two rak’ahs after Maghrib prayer, two rak’ahs after Isha prayer, and the Witr prayer, which is Wajib according to the Hanafi school of law and a confirmed Sunnah according to the majority of scholars.
Secondly: Voluntary prayers during travel:
Some voluntary prayers are unanimously agreed upon by Islamic jurists to be performed during travel and at home, while there are others that they differ about:
As for the prayers that are unanimously agreed upon, they include the two rak’ahs before Fajr prayer and the Witr prayer. Qabuss bin Abi Tha’bian narrated from his father that he sent someone to ask Lady Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about the prayer of the Prophet (peace be upon him). She said, “He used to pray and supplicate, but I never saw him neglect the two units before the Fajr prayer, whether he was travelling or at home, whether he was in good health or sick.” [Reported by Al-Tabarani]
Similarly, more than one scholar reported the consensus on performing unbounded voluntary prayers during travel. Al-Baji said, “There is no disagreement among the Ummah (Muslim scholars) on the permissibility of performing unbounded voluntary prayers during travel at night.” Imam Al-Nawawi also stated in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, “The scholars have agreed on the recommendation of performing unbounded voluntary prayers during travel.”
We will comment on this at the end of the fatwa.
As for the disputed matter, it is regarding the regular voluntary prayers associated with the obligatory prayers (Sunnan Rawatib), and there are several opinions about them:
First: Performing rawatib during travel is recommended and it is the opinion of the majority of the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). It is also the opinion of the Maliki and Shafi’i schools of law, and it is a valid opinion in the Hanafi and Hanbali schools of law, based on what was reported from the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his Companions regarding their practice of this act.
Second: It is permissible to perform rawatib during travel in case of safety not in case of fear where one cannot stay to perform them, and this is the opinion of the Hanafi School of Islamic law.
Third: It is recommended to perform rawatib during travel if one is not actually traveling, but rather staying at a particular location for a period of time. This is the opinion of some scholars of the Hanafi School of law.
Fourth: It is optional and one has the choice between performing them or leaving them. This is the opinion of the Hanbali School of law.
Fifth: It is not recommended to perform them during travel, according to the opinion of Ibn Umar and some of the early Muslim generations. This is also the opinion of Ibn Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim, and some Hanafi scholars adhere to this opinion.
What we would like to conclude with is that there is no need to differentiate between unbounded voluntary prayers and regular voluntary prayers associated with the obligatory prayers (rawatib) in terms of ruling. Since the rawatib have stronger evidence and practice compared to unbounded voluntary prayers, if it is permissible to leave the rawatib according to those who permit it, then it is more appropriate to leave the unbounded voluntary prayers because they are of lower priority. Additionally, the reason for leaving these voluntary prayers during travel is still valid, which is to ease the burden on the traveler.
And Allah knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr