As a Muslims, we should embrace the beauty of this world by travelling. When we travel, we should be looking at the creation of Allah in awe and there are a few important things that we need to know when travelling.
- Know your du’as for travelling.
Before the start of any journey, whether it be small and big, we need to ask permission and seek protection from Allah (s.w.t). There are a bunch of du’as (invocations) that are applicable to a travelling situation.
First of all, start with sincere and genuine intentions. Make du’a and intentions for Allah (s.w.t) to guide you along your journey and seek his permission in your travelling affairs.
اللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ ، اللهُ أَكْبَرُ سُبْحَانَ الَّذِيْ سَخَّرَ لَناَ هَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لَهُ مُقرِنِيْنَ وإِنَّا إِلَى رَبِّناَ لمُنْقَلِبُوْنَ ، اَلَّلهُمَّ إنَّا نَسْألُكَ فِيْ سَفَرِناَ هَذَا البِرَّ وَالتَّقْوَى ومِنَ العَمَلِ ماَ تَرْضَى اَلَّلهُمَّ هَوِّنْ عَلَيْناَ سَفَرَناَ هَذَا وَاطْوِ عَنَّا بُعْدَهُ. الَلَّهُمَّ أَنتَ الصَّاحِبُ فِيْ السَّفَرِ والخَلِيفَةُ في الأَهْلِ الّلهُمَّ إنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ وَعْثاءِ السَّفَرِ وكَآبَةِ المَنْظَرِ وسُوْءِ المُنْقَلَبِ في المَالِ والأَهْلِ .
Translation :
Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest, How perfect He is, The One Who has placed this (transport) at our service, and we ourselves would not have been capable of that, and to our Lord is our final destiny.
O Allah, we ask You for birr and taqwaa in this journey of ours, and we ask You for deeds which please You.
O Allah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly. O Allah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family, O Allah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel, from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament, and I take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.
Apart from this du’a, you can also continue to recite Surah Al-Fatihah, Surah Al-Ikhlas, Surah Falaq and Surah Naas. These surahs will give solace and your pure intentions will be guided and granted by Allah (s.w.t).
An ayat that is beneficial for you, not only in travel but in life, is ayatul Kursi.
Verse 255 of Surah Al-Baqarah : (2:255). The benefits of the Ayat Kursi is so vast, SubhanAllah. It has been said that reading this ayat upon leaving home will grant you the protection of 70,000 angels. How generous is Allah (s.w.t) to give us such guidance and protection over a short verse. Alhamdulilah.
- Finding Qiblat and prayer times
It can be quite stressful having to ask where the Qiblat it, especially if you are travelling to a non-muslim dominant country. Therefore, do not rely on anyone else. You can find the Qiblat and prayer times of the respective countries through a variety of apps. One large and popular application is MuslimPro. MuslimPro allows you to set a location and from there, they will direct you to the Qiblat and remind you of prayer times.
- Prayers in travelling
In the Quran it is written :
"And when you travel throughout the land, there is no blame upon you for shortening the prayer, [especially] if you fear that those who disbelieve may disrupt [or attack] you. Indeed, the disbelievers are ever to you a clear enemy.” (4:101)
It is indicated in the Quran that no sin or blame would be on you if you shortened your prayers on your journey. But this does come with conditions.
Fajr (Subuh) prayers should be conducted as normal : 2 rak’ahs.
Maghrib prayers should be conducted as normal : 3 rak’ahs.
Zohor, Asar and Ishak prayers can all be shortened to 2 rak’ahs.
Also, it is important to not that not all journeys justify the shortening of prayers. Journeys that are travelled for more than 88.7 kilometres are allowed for shortening of prayers.
It has also been said that the traveller is allowed to continue shortening their prayers until they return home, unless their journey extends for longer than 15 days. Any longer, then the traveller will have to resume to normal prayers.
- Find a local mosque
The world is a big and wonderful place created by Allah (s.w.t). He also distributed our Muslim brothers and sisters all over the world. Therefore it is important for Muslims to travel the world, to adventure to different sites in the world and appreciate Allah (s.w.t)’s creations. From the mountains to the oceans, all Allah (s.w.t)’s creations are for us to admire.
During your travels, it would be a fun tradition for you to visit a new mosque or surau in each town, city, country, continent you travel to. You will not only complete your obligatory prayers but you also get to experience a different perspective.
You get to see how different mosques in different places are made : the architecture, the furnishing, the innovation. As well as you get to meet fellow brothers and sisters of Islam. From there, you can share life stories and exchange advice.
- Carry loose change around, or small treats
When you are in a new city or country, try to carry around little edible treats or loose change in your pocket. This is so that you can provide charity (sadaqa) to those around you. Every place in the world has someone who is need of a little help, wether it be food or money. You can offer some of what you have to them. It does not need to be big or extravagant, all it needs to be in genuine.
Give charity to others with a genuine intention in your heart. Do not give charity expecting anything in return or expecting to be glorified. Allah (s.w.t) will reward you upon your charity and good intentions. Remember that you are helping another and one day, if you are ever in need, someone will help you too, InsyaAllah.
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Source :
https://www.halaltrip.com/prayertimes/traveldua/
http://muslimcanada.org/fiqhch26.htm
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Article is written by:
Fatin Najwa binti Daud, is a medical student studying at IMU Malaysia. She is a freelance writer of this blog at Zaahara. Interests include music, art, sports and travel.
-Photos are taken from google images
© 2016 Zaahara Ventures Sdn. Bhd.
