Umm al-Mu’minin Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Allah Almighty initially made two rak‘ahs obligatory in prayer, both during travel and while residing. Then the prayer during travel was kept in its original state, and an addition was made to the prayers while residing.

Hafs bin Asim (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrated to us that I have accompanied the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and I never saw him offering Sunnah prayers during travel, and Allah, the Exalted, has said: "Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) you have a good example." (__QUR_33:21__)

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I offered four rak‘ahs of prayer (Zuhr) behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah, and two rak‘ahs of prayer (Asr) at Dhu’l-Hulayfah.

Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that we set out from Madinah with the intention of Makkah in the company of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) continued to perform two rak‘ahs (for each prayer) until we returned to Madinah. Yahya bin Abi Ishaq says: I asked,“Did you stay in Makkah for some days?”Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) replied:“We stayed there for ten days.”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) said: I offered two rak‘ahs (i.e., shortened prayers of four rak‘ahs) in Mina with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). I also offered two rak‘ahs with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) at the beginning of his caliphate, but later he offered the full prayer.

Sayyiduna Haritha bin Wahb Khuzai (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in two rak‘ahs of prayer at Mina. At that time, our number was greater than at any other time, and we were never as safe as we were then (yet he still led us in shortened prayer).

Hazrat Nafi’ (may Allah have mercy on him) narrated that Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) gave the call to prayer on a cold and rainy night, then called out:“People, pray in your places.”Then he said that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would order the mu’adhdhin on cold and rainy nights to announce:“People, pray in your places.”

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) once said to his muezzin on a rainy day that after "Ashhadu anna Muhammadur Rasulullah," do not say "Hayya 'ala as-Salah" (come to prayer), but rather say "Sallu fi buyutikum" (pray in your homes). People were surprised at this, so he said: This is what a person better than me (the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him) did. Indeed, Jumu'ah is obligatory, but I dislike that I should make you come out of your homes and walk in mud and slippery ground.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) used to perform the night prayer during travel on his mount by making gestures, regardless of which direction the mount was facing; he would continue to pray by gestures, but he did not perform the obligatory prayers in this manner, and he would perform Witr on his camel.

Sayyiduna Amir bin Rabi’ah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that I myself saw that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to offer voluntary prayers during travel at night on his mount, facing in whatever direction it took him.