132 - Issue: He said: (And it is the same whether he is the pursued or the pursuer who fears missing the enemy. And from Abu ‘Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, there is another narration: That if he is the pursuer, it is not sufficient for him to pray except the prayer of one who is secure.)
There is a difference of opinion regarding the narration from Abu ‘Abd Allah, may Allah have mercy on him, concerning the pursuer of the enemy who fears missing them. It was narrated that he prays according to his condition, exactly like the pursued. This was narrated from Shurahbil ibn Hasana (2), and it is the view of al-Awza'i. And it is reported from Ahmad that he does not pray except the prayer of one who is secure, and this is the view of most scholars; because Allah the Exalted said: "But if you fear, then [pray] on foot or riding." Thus, He made fear a condition, and this one is not in fear. Also, he is secure, so the prayer of security is binding upon him, just as if he did not fear missing them. This difference of opinion applies to one who is secure from their return if he occupies himself with prayer, and is secure regarding his companions. As for the one who fears that, his ruling is the ruling of the pursued. Our evidence is what Abu Dawud narrated in his "Sunan" (3) with his chain of narration from ‘Abd Allah ibn Unays, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sent me to Khalid ibn Sufyan al-Hudhali, who was near ‘Arafah or ‘Arafat, and said: "Go and kill him." I saw him, and the time for the ‘Asr prayer arrived. I said: I fear that there will be something between me and him that will cause me to delay the prayer. So I set off walking, while I was praying, gesturing with my head in his direction. When I drew near him, he said to me: "Who are you?" I said: "A man from the Arabs. It has reached me that you are gathering [forces] for this man, so I have come to you for that." He said: "I am indeed doing that." I walked with him for a while until, when I had the opportunity, I overcame him with my sword until he grew cold. The apparent state of his affair is that he informed the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) of that, or he had already known its permissibility from him beforehand; for it is not thought of him that he would do such a thing erroneously while being the messenger of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and then not inform him about it, nor ask him about its ruling.
133 - Issue: He said: (And he may offer voluntary prayers while traveling on a mount, according to what we have described regarding the Prayer of Fear.)
We know of no disagreement among the scholars regarding the permissibility of offering voluntary prayers while on a mount during a long journey. Al-Tirmidhi said (1): This is [the view] according to the generality of scholars. Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: They have reached a consensus that it is permissible for anyone who travels a journey in which he is allowed to shorten the prayer to offer voluntary prayers on his mount wherever it turns, gesturing for the bowing and prostration, making the prostration lower than the bowing. As for a short journey, which is that in which shortening the prayer is not permitted, then prayer on it is permissible at...
(1) In M: "in". (2) Abu ‘Abd Allah Shurahbil ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn al-Muta’ al-Kindi. Hasana was his mother, or she adopted him. He was among those dispatched by Abu Bakr for the conquests of the Levant (al-Sham), and ‘Umar appointed him governor over a quarter of the districts of the Levant. He died in the Plague of ‘Amwas at the age of sixty-seven. Al-Isabah 3/328, 329. (3) In: Chapter on the Prayer of the Pursuer, from the Book of Prayer. Sunan Abi Dawud 1/287. It was also reported by Imam Ahmad in: Al-Musnad 3/496. (4) In M: "that he".