Yahya bin Yazid Hanai says: I asked Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) about the shortened prayer (Qasr Salah) and said that I go towards Kufa and keep offering two rak'ahs of prayer until I return. Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to offer two rak'ahs of prayer when he went out for a distance of three miles or three farsakhs. Imam Shu'bah was uncertain about this.

Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) says: Forty Ansari men were sent by us to ‘Abd al-Malik in Syria, so that he might appoint something for us. When he (Anas, may Allah be pleased with him) returned and we reached the place of Fajj al-Naqah, he led us in the ‘Asr prayer, performing two rak‘ahs, and after saying salam, he went into his tent. But what happened was that the (followers) stood up and began to perform two more rak‘ahs along with those two. Upon this, Sayyiduna Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: May Allah disfigure these faces! By Allah, they have neither attained the Sunnah nor accepted the concession. I bear witness that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) say: Indeed, some people will go to extremes and excess in the religion, but then will leave the religion just as an arrow leaves the prey.

Yahya bin Abi Ishaq says: I asked Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) about the shortened prayer (Qasr). He said: We traveled with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from Madinah to Makkah, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to lead us in two-unit prayers until he returned. I asked: Did he (peace and blessings be upon him) also stay there? He said: Yes, he (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Makkah for ten days.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I offered two rak‘ahs of prayer at Mina with the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and with Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) in the early period of his caliphate. Then, Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) used to offer the full prayer there.

Sayyiduna Abu Juhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: I performed ‘Asr prayer, or both Zuhr and ‘Asr, two rak‘ahs each, with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at the place of Abtah. Then the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) continued to perform two rak‘ahs each until he reached Madinah Munawwarah.

‘Abad says: Sayyiduna Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) came for Hajj, so we also came with him to Makkah. He led us in two rak‘ahs of Zuhr prayer and then went to Dar al-Nadwah. When Sayyiduna ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) used to come to Makkah, he would lead four rak‘ahs each for Zuhr, ‘Asr, and ‘Isha prayers, but when he went to Mina and ‘Arafat, he would perform Qasr (shortened) prayers. Then, when he finished Hajj and stayed in Mina, he would perform the full prayer until he left Makkah Mukarramah. After that, when Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) led us in two rak‘ahs of Zuhr prayer, Marwan bin Hakam and ‘Amr bin ‘Uthman went to him and said:“You have attributed the worst fault to your cousin (Sayyiduna ‘Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him).”He asked:“What is that?”They both said:“Do you not know that he used to perform the full prayer in Makkah?”He said:“May you perish! Is there any other way to do what I have done? I have prayed this prayer with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, and Sayyiduna ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with them).”But they both said again:“Your cousin performed the full prayer, and it is a fault against him that you oppose him.”After that, when Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) came for ‘Asr, he led four rak‘ahs.

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) undertook a journey and stayed (in Makkah) for nineteen days, and he used to perform prayers of two rak‘ahs each. Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) says: This is why, when we stay for nineteen days during a journey, we perform two rak‘ahs, but when we stay for more days than that, we perform four rak‘ahs.

(Second chain) They say: When the Noble Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conquered Makkah, he stayed there for seventeen days and performed prayers in two units (rak‘ahs).

Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed in Tabuk for twenty days and during that time continued to perform shortened prayers.

Thumamah bin Sharahil says: I came to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, and said: What is the ruling regarding the prayer of a traveler? He said: It is two rak‘ahs, except for Maghrib prayer, which is three rak‘ahs. I said: What do you think, if we are in Dhu al-Majaz? He said: What is Dhu al-Majaz? I said: It is the name of a place, we gather there and buy and sell, and we stay there for fifteen or twenty nights. He said: Oh! I stayed in Azerbaijan for four or two months, I saw those people there performing two rak‘ahs of prayer, and I saw the Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with my own eyes, that he too performed two rak‘ahs of prayer. Then Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, recited this verse {لَقَدْ کَانَ لَکُمْ فِی رَسُوْلِ اللّٰہِ اُسْوَۃٌ حَسَنَۃٌ} meaning: Indeed, for you in the Messenger of Allah is a beautiful example. Until he finished the verse.