Fatwa ID: 06534

Answered by: Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Question:

Does a person become Musafir if he goes above the number of miles without the intention of Safar?

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Answer:

A person must intend to travel more than the specified distance (48 miles) to be considered a Musafir (Fatawa Hindiyyah, Vol 1, Pg 153). If a person travels more than the distance without the intention to do so (e.g., they initially intend to travel a shorter distance but later end up travelling more), then they would not be considered a Musafir, and the rules of travelling would not apply to them. If, however, they initially intended to travel more than 48 miles, they would be considered a Musafir.

Note: the intention to travel does not need to be firm; it can be based on a person’s predominant belief regarding the journey (Fatawa Hindiyyah, Vol 1, Pg 153-154).

In summary, if a person travels further than 48 miles without intending to do so, they would not be considered a Musafir. If they intended to travel more than 48 miles, they would be considered a Musafir.

و لا بد للمسافر من قصد مسافة مقدرة بثلاثة أيام حتي يترخص برخصة المسافرين و إلا لا يترخص أبدا و لا طاف الدنيا جميعها بأن كان طالب آبق أو غريم أو نحو ذلك

و يكفي في ذلك القصد غلبة الظن يعني إذا غلب علي ظنه أنه يسافر قصر و لا يشترط فيه التقيين كذا في التبيين

Only Allah knows best.

Written by Alimah Zakiratul Hoque

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham