Work schedule makes prayer schedule difficult

13-11-2005 | IslamWeb

Question:

I'm working in oil field, 35 days on and 35 days off. Living in camps in desert. Most of the people with me are foreigners. Once we arrive to location we may be moving within days more or less than 4 days. And they may ask to move to another camp or transfer to another location. Please try to help me for how I make pray Qasr or complete in the 35 days including traveling to and from home.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. We ask Allaah to exalt his mention as well as that of his family and all his companions.

If the distance between your house and your workplace is 85 km or more, and during the 35 days of your work you move from one place to another and you do not stay 4 days or more in one place, or you stay for 4 days or more but do not know whether or not the work will last for this period, you can take benefit of the permissions that are allowed to a traveller, like shortening and joining the prayers, breaking the fast if it is Ramadan and so forth. However, if the distance between your house and your workplace is less than 85 km and during the 35 days work you do not move from one place to another, or you move but you know that your work at a given place will not be finished in less than 4 days, then you cannot take benefit of the permissions that are allowed to a traveller. As regards travelling from your place of residence to the workplace or vice-versa you can take benefit of the permissions that are allowed to a traveller if the distance is 85 km or more as previously detailed.

Allaah Knows best.