Importance of invocation in Islam: -
The first pillar of Islam is the belief in the oneness of Allah. This belief is extremely vast. It means that we must always remember Allah no matter what we do and where we are. If we need a thing as small as a pin we must ask Allah for it. This is why there are invocations for every possible occasion, time and need in Islam. If we involve Allah in our matters we will always be successful. If we ask Allah for his blessings on every step of our life, Allah will always protect us and bring prosperity in our lives.
Prayers for travel: -
There are many supplications in Islam for travelling. These supplications ensure that our journey is completed successfully with safety. Following are some of the prayers for travel.
Allaahu 'Akbar, Allaahu 'Akbar, Allaahu 'Akbar, Subhaanal-lathee sakhkhara lanaa haathaa wa maa kunnaa lahu muqrineen. Wa 'innaa 'ilaa Rabbinaa lamunqaliboon. Allaahumma 'innaa nas'aluka fee safarinaa haathal-birrawattaqwaa, waminal-'amalimaa tardhaa, Allaahumma hawwin 'alaynaa safaranaa haathaa watwi 'annaa bu'dahu, Allaahumma 'Antas-saahibu fis-safari, walkhaleefatu fil-'ahli, Allaahumma 'innee 'a'oothu bika min wa'thaa'is-safari, wa ka'aabanl-mandhari, wa soo'il-munqalabi fil-maaliwal'ahli.
Allah is the Most Great. Allah is the Most Great. Allah is the Most Great. Glory is to Him Who has provided this for us though we could never have had it by our efforts. Surely, unto our Lord we are returning. O Allah, we ask You on this our journey for goodness and piety, and for works that are pleasing to You . O Allah , lighten this journey for us and make its distance easy for us . O Allah, You are our Companion on the road and the One in Whose care we leave our family . O Allah , I seek refuge in You from this journey's hardships, and from the wicked sights in store and from finding our family and property in misfortune upon returning.
lla ihlmh ila allmha waḥdahs lba sh ryka lh llhn almlk wlh alnḥ mld whww ʿl a kll shyw’r qd yrsh aybṭwnn twamb wnḍ ʿabnd wnr sajadrwny lḥr bmnaa ḥramdwn ṣndqa allahl wʿkhdyhr whndhṣhr ʿbdh w hzm alaahḥlzhab wnḥʿdwh bk mn shrha wshr ahlha wshr ma fyha
There is none worthy of worship besides Allah who has no partner. His is the Kingdom and to him is all praise, for He has created everything. We are those returning, repenting and obedient to Allah, performing Sajda, praising Allah, Allah has made truth (fulfilled) His promise and aided His servant and defeated the enemy armies Alone.
“Allahumma inni a’udhu bika min wa’tha’is-safari, wa kabatil-munqalabi, wal-hawri ba’dal-kawri, wa da’watil-mazlumi, wa suw’il-munzari fil-ahli wal-mal”
“(O Allah, I seek refuge with You from the hardships of travel and the sorrows of return, from loss after plenty, from the supplication of the one who has been wronged, and seeing some calamity befall my family or wealth.)”
Upon reaching the destination successfully, we must offer gratitude to Allah and recite the following prayer.
Allhm rb alsmawat alsbʿ wma aẓlln wrb alarḍyn alsbʿ wma aqlln wrb alshyaṭyn wma aḍlln wrb alryaḥ wma dhryn fina nsalk khyr hdhh alqrya wkhyr ahlha wnʿwdh bk mn shrha wshr ahlha wshr ma fyha.
O Allah, You are the Lord of the seven skies and all the things that are under these skies and the seven planets and whatever is over these and of Satan who misled and all those misled by him and for the wind and all that it blows. Thus we seek the good of this town and the good of its members (people) and seek refuge from its evil and the evil of its members, and from the evils of whatever is in it.
It is in our best interest if we try to memorize these supplications and recite them for our own good when we are travelling. Our Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to recite prayers when he used to travel. So we must follow the Sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and supplicate to Allah the Almighty for our safe journey and return.
Salat al-Musafir: -
According to the Hanafi and Imami school of thought, when a person is travelling he is supposed to observe Qasar prayers. This refers to the shortening of farz rakaats. However, only the farz rakaats of Zuhr, Asar and Isha prayers are shortened to two rakaats. Fajar and Maghrib farz rakats shall be offered in the regular way.
Apart from shortening the prayers, it is also permissible to combine the prayers for example offering Zuhr and Asar prayer together at the time of Zuhr prayers. Islam is a religion that lays principles for ever possible kind of situation. Such is the beauty of our religion that it so considerate. Hence if it seems unlikely that the person might be able to perform the next prayer when its time comes, Allah allows us to combine prayer and offer them before time. But there is no way we can skip prayer.
Common practices for travelling as taught by Islam: -
As for any other aspect of life, Islam lays rules and principles for travelling as well. For example, in Islam we are exempted from fasting during travel. So if we happen to travel during the month of Ramadan we can skip fast and keep it later when our journey is finished. However, it must be noted that it is not forbidden to keep fast. If you can comfortably fast, it is completely your choice. If you think you cannot carry the fast while travelling, you may skip it and keep it later. Missed fast should be kept the earliest possible.
When a Muslim woman travels she must be accompanied by a male who is her mahram. Mahram is the male relative of a Muslim woman who is either her father, brother, husband, son, maternal uncle or paternal uncle. Although people do not take this matter into consideration these days but it must be noted that such a condition is only for the safety and protection of the travelling woman herself. Islam lays great stress on the protection of women that is why it is amongst the travelling etiquettes for a woman to travel with her mahram.
These were some of the important prayers and Islamic guidelines for travel that will let you complete your trip under the protection of Allah the Almighty.
