4/18. Chapter:
Sunan Abi Dawud 1247 — Prayer Length in Danger
Those Who Said That The Imam Should Lead Each Group For One Rak'ah And Then They Should Not Complete (The Second Rak'ah)
Fear Prayer Hadith: Four at Home, Two in Travel, One in Danger
Sunan Abi Dawud : 1247
Sunan Abi DawudHadith Number 1247
حَدَّثَنَا مُسَدَّدٌ، وَسَعِيدُ بْنُ مَنْصُورٍ، قَالاَ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَوَانَةَ، عَنْ بُكَيْرِ بْنِ الأَخْنَسِ، عَنْ مُجَاهِدٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ فَرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الصَّلاَةَ عَلَى لِسَانِ نَبِيِّكُمْ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي الْحَضَرِ أَرْبَعًا وَفِي السَّفَرِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ وَفِي الْخَوْفِ رَكْعَةً .
Ibn 'Abbas Narrated from:
Allah, the Exalted, prescribed prayer for you, through the tongue of your Prophet (ﷺ), four rak'ahs while resident, two rak'ahs while travelling and one rak'ah in time of danger.
Reference : Sunan Abi Dawud 1247In-book reference : Book 4, Hadith 50English translation : Book 4, Hadith 1242
Summary of Sunan Abi Dawud Hadith 1247
This fear prayer hadith from Ibn Abbas is short but very clear. He says that Allah, through the tongue of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم, prescribed prayer as four rak'ahs while resident, two rak'ahs while travelling, and one rak'ah in time of danger. The report directly links the number of rak'ahs to three states: normal residence, travel, and fear. The wording should not be stretched beyond the text. Its main point is the stated difference in prayer length based on the situation. For a reader searching for hadith about prayer in danger, this narration gives a simple summary: worship remains, but the form mentioned here changes when the situation is fear.
What we learn from this hadith
- The report names three states: residence, travel, and danger.
- Four rak'ahs are mentioned for the resident state.
- Two rak'ahs are mentioned for travel.
- One rak'ah is mentioned for the time of danger.
