[Its judgement is that it is sunna. Its reason is the journey and its place is the four rak'ats prayer. One of its preconditions, which are four, is the distance. It deals with of what invalidates shortening and questions connected to it. He indicated the first five which are the description of the travel prayer and its judgement, reason, place and some of its preconditions.]
If you travel a distance of four mail stages which is forty-eight miles, you should shorten the prayer,
[This is when you intend to make a land or sea journey which is obligatory, like the obligatory hajj, or desirable, like voluntary hajj, or permitted, like for commerce, of at least four mail stages. This definition indicates the distance, and in terms of time, the prayer is only shortened in a journey of a day and a night by animals carrying normal burdens. If he shortens before that, it is said that if it is 35 miles, he always repeats it, and in 40 he does not repeat. There is some disagreement about whether he repeats it within the time or not. Ibn Rushd said in at-Tawdih that he always repeats for shortening the prayer in 36 miles in the School. The prayer which is shortened is the obligatory prayer and the prayer which is being made up.]
doing only two rak'as for each except in the case of Maghrib which is not shortened.
[Maghrib is odd and cannot be divided. It is also becuase it makes the number of prayers in the day odd. Subh is not shortened because it is not established in the Shari'a that it is shortened, which would make it one rak'at. He is silent about Subh because it is not shortened. So there is consenus that Subh and Maghrib are not shortened and so the journey has no effect on them.]
[There are preconditions for shortening:
You are not permitted to shorten the prayer until you have passed beyond the houses of the town you are in so they are all behind you, leaving none in front of you or level with you.
[ Ibn Naji says that it is whether it is a place where Jumu'a is held or not. That is the case in the well-known position. Opposite it is what Mutarrif and Ibn al-Majishun related from the Imam that if the town from which the journey begins is a Jumu'a town, the prayer is not shortened until he has gone three miles beyond its walls. Otherwise, it is from the end of its buildings. The place of the dispute is about adding the gardens when it happens that he passes the gardens. If the houses are separate, he must leave them all when they are united under the name of 'quarter' and 'abode' or the name 'abode alone or the name 'quarter' when when share together. Otherwise he shortens as soon as he leaves his house. It is clear that they are behind him.]
You do not leave off shortening the prayers until you return to the place you set out from or come within a mile of it.
[ Until he returns to the houses or less than a mile. Ibn 'Umar is unsure of the words here. This phrase is unclear because at the beginning of his words he made it less than a mile while travelling and the last words he made him resident. This is not sound. Some say that the contradiction when he says, "until he returns to it." with "or is near to it" as another statement means until he returns to it means until he is near them. Then his words, "or near" mean the same. The upshot of this interpretation is that if he is less than a mile, he must do the full prayer, whether he is at its gardens or not. A little means a third of a mile, or more.]
If a traveller intends to stay in a place for four days or twenty prayers he should do the complete prayer until he moves from that place.
[ This is based on Ibn Naji. There are two positions. Shortening ends when he has the intention of staying four full days or more if it reaches twenty prayers, and it is that on whose basis Ibn al-Qasim proceded. Ibn al-Qasim considers that stopping the judgement of the journey is four full days and 20 prayers. So he considers that the stop which ends the judgement of the journey is that he stays until the fourth 'Isha'. If someone arrives before Fajr on a day and intends to leave after sunset on the fourth, he shortens because he will not be there for the period of 20 prayers. Sahnun and 'Abdu'l-Malik said that if the intention of what he will pray in it is 20 prayers, that ends the judgement of the journey. The point of the dispute appears when the time of Dhuhr comes. If he is able to perform the prayers according to Dhuhr of its day and 'Asr and he does Dhuhr and 'Asr in full. If he counts the days, he voids the day in which he entered, meaning he does not count it among the four days which he abides. If someone intends to remain for four full days, he prays in full from the time he enters the place in which he intends to remain. If he enters at Dhuhr, he does it in full and completes 'Asr and 'Isha' and the day he enters is not counted among the days which he abides.
They make an exception to the intention of remaining four days or more invalidating the principle of travel is the intention of an army to stop in the Abode of War. What is meant by the Abode of War is the place where the army settles, even in the Abode of Islam when it is not secure. Another things which stops shortening is the knowledge of abiding by custom like the custom of the hajji when he enters Makka to abide for four days.]
If you leave a place before you have prayed Dhuhr and 'Asr and there is still enough daytime left to pray three rak'as you should pray them both as travelling prayers. If there is only enough time to pray two rak'as or one you should pray Dhuhr in full and 'Asr as a travelling prayer.
[ If you start to travel in this case there is agreement if he omitted them by forgetfulness. The same applies is that if he left them intentionally but he is a sinner. If he is like that, he prays them as travel prayers because he travels in their time when Dhuhr is estimated as two rak'ats and one rak'at of 'Asr remains. There is disagreement about this estimation and whether or not one takes purification into account in it he he is not in a state of purity. Al-Lakhmi, al-Qarafi and Abu'l-Hasan said that. Others said that it, and that is the position of Ibn 'Arafa.
If there is only enough time for two rak'ats, you pray Dhuhr in full because you became responsible for it while resident. 'Asr is prayed with a travelling prayer, because he was travelling in its time. He begins with Dhuhr according to Ibn al-Qasim, which is the preferred position. He begins with 'Asr according to Ibn Wahb so that he does not miss it in its time. while Ashhab says that he begins with whichever he wishes because of the disgreement of the people of knowledge on that. Malik and Ibn Shihab both say that he begins with the first while Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab says that he begins with the last.]
If you return from a journey without having prayed these two prayers and there is still time for five rak'as you do them both as full prayers
[If you return from a journey and there is time for five rak'ats in the day, and you have forgotten to pray Dhuhr and 'Asr, you pray them as resident because you have caught their time with four of Dhuhr and one of 'Asr. The judement of the deliberate is the same as the forgetful.]
but if there is time for four rak'as or less down to one rak'a you do Dhuhr as a travelling prayer and 'Asr in full.
[Because the time for 'Asr went when you were responsible for it while travelling. 'Asr is prayed in full because he caught it while resident.]
If you return during the night without having prayed Maghrib and 'Isha and there is still time enough before fajr for one or more rak'as you pray both Maghrib and 'Isha in full.
[ This is estimated, and applies whether he omitted them out of forgetfulness or intentionally. They are prayed in full because there remains enough time to catch Isha' and so he is obliged to pray it as a resident. As for Maghrib, there is no disagreement that it is always three, either at home or on a journey.]
If you set out on a journey and there is enough of the night left to pray one rak'a or more you do Maghrib in full and pray 'Isha as a travelling prayer.
[ Because he catches its time in the journey. The rule of this chapter in relation to the two night prayers is that it considers one rak'at on arrival and leaving, while in relation to the day prayers or one of them, on leaving if there is what is enough for three rak'ats, he prays the two travel prayers and two or one. The second is a travel prayer. In respect of the day prayers, if he arrives when there remains enough of the day to pray five rak'ats, then he prays them as resident. If there are four or less to one, he prays Dhuhr as a travel prayer. Allah knows best.]