Sūrat an-Nisāʾ
Section 18 of 28 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
The Prayer of Fear
Allah (swt) then treats — since a state of war requires special provision — of how one prays at such a time, and how one prays when travelling. Allah (swt) says, from verse 94 — and it is taken up again later, at 101; verse 101 more specifically:
وَإِذَا ضَرَبْتُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَن تَقْصُرُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةِ إِنْ خِفْتُمْ أَن يَفْتِنَكُمُ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ ۚ إِنَّ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ كَانُوا۟ لَكُمْ عَدُوًّا مُّبِينًا
“When you travel on the earth, there is no sin on you in shortening your Salāh, if you fear that the disbelievers would put you in trouble. Surely, the disbelievers are an open enemy for you.” (4:101)
When you are travelling, you are permitted to shorten your prayers. Then Allah (swt) says that when you are travelling and fear the enemy, you must take precaution. This is most interesting: because of this circumstance of fear and precaution, Allah (swt) has changed the whole manner in which the prayer is performed. First, it is shortened. Second: if everyone insists on praying behind their commander or their leader, how are they to do so? If everyone begins to pray, who is to defend the front line, or who is to keep watch?
وَإِذَا كُنتَ فِيهِمْ فَأَقَمْتَ لَهُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ فَلْتَقُمْ طَآئِفَةٌ مِّنْهُم مَّعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوٓا۟ أَسْلِحَتَهُمْ فَإِذَا سَجَدُوا۟ فَلْيَكُونُوا۟ مِن وَرَآئِكُمْ وَلْتَأْتِ طَآئِفَةٌ أُخْرَىٰ لَمْ يُصَلُّوا۟ فَلْيُصَلُّوا۟ مَعَكَ وَلْيَأْخُذُوا۟ حِذْرَهُمْ وَأَسْلِحَتَهُمْ ۗ وَدَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لَوْ تَغْفُلُونَ عَنْ أَسْلِحَتِكُمْ وَأَمْتِعَتِكُمْ فَيَمِيلُونَ عَلَيْكُم مَّيْلَةً وَٰحِدَةً ۚ وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ إِن كَانَ بِكُمْ أَذًى مِّن مَّطَرٍ أَوْ كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَن تَضَعُوٓا۟ أَسْلِحَتَكُمْ ۖ وَخُذُوا۟ حِذْرَكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَعَدَّ لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا
“When you (O prophet) are in their midst, and arrange for them the Salāh, then, a party from them should stand with you, and should take their arms along. Then, once they performed Sajdah, they should move away from you, and the other party, that has not yet performed Salāh, should come and perform Salāh with you, and should take their precautionary measures and their arms. Those who disbelieve would want you to become heedless to your arms and your belongings, so that they come down upon you in a single move. There is no sin on you, if you have some inconvenience due to rain, or you are sick, in putting your arms aside, but take your precautionary measures. Surely, Allah has prepared for the disbelievers a humiliating punishment.” (4:102)
Allah says that the whole ṣalāh is, as it were, distributed. Half the company stand, not yet praying; they are outside, on the front line, guarding. The other half begin the ṣalāh with the imam. The imam — say it is the Fajr prayer, of two rakʿāt — performs one rakʿah with these men. They, still in their prayer, having completed the first rakʿah with its sujūd, move away and go to the front line, as though still in prayer. The second group come and join the imam, so that it is their first rakʿah and the imam's second. The imam completes his prayer. They, once the imam has finished, return to the front line, and the first group come back and complete their prayer. The idea is that both groups pray behind the imam with whom both wish to pray. If they are content to pray behind two separate imams at separate times, that too is permitted. The whole ṣalāh is thus divided, because of the importance of this factor and the importance of preparedness. Even while praying, one is to keep one's weapons close at hand — wa-khudhū ḥidhrakum, as in verse 102.