Riyadh al-Salihin from the words of the Master of the Messengers, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Book of Travel Etiquette.
Chapter: The Desirability of Departing on a Thursday.
And the desirability of departing early in the day.
On the authority of Ka‘b ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
departed for the expedition of Tabuk on a Thursday.
He used to love to depart on a Thursday.
Agreed upon.
In a narration in the two Sahihs:
"Rarely would the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, depart except on a Thursday."
From the benefits of the hadith:
The desirability of a traveler departing on a Thursday.
On the authority of Sakhr ibn Wada‘ah al-Ghamidi, the Companion, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"O Allah, bless my Ummah in its early morning."
Whenever he sent out a detachment or an army,
he would send them at the beginning of the day.
Sakhr was a merchant,
so he would send his trade at the beginning of the day,
and he became wealthy and his wealth increased.
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
The "early morning" (bukur) is the beginning of the day.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Some times are superior to others.
The best and most blessed of times is the beginning of the day.
It is recommended to seek the blessed time of the day to attain blessing in it.
Chapter: The Desirability of Seeking Companionship,
and appointing one of them as a leader whom they obey.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"If people knew what I know about being alone,
no rider would travel at night alone."
Narrated by al-Bukhari.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The prohibition against traveling alone.
Because if people knew what the Prophet, peace be upon him, knew
of the harm in traveling alone,
they would not travel by night or by day.
Being alone carries great harm that befalls the servant during his journey.
He finds no helper on his path if he falls ill or encounters a threat.
Mentioning the night indicates that the probability of harm occurring is greater.
On the authority of ‘Amr ibn Shu‘ayb, from his father, from his grandfather, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"One rider is a devil,
two riders are two devils,
and three are a caravan."
Narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa’i.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The one who is alone in his travel is accompanied by a devil.
Being alone and traveling by oneself on the earth is an act of the devil.
It is something the devil encourages and calls toward.
The devil stays away from a group and does not approach them,
because of their mutual support and solidarity,
their carrying for one another,
their reminding one another,
and their repelling any harm that might befall one of them.
On the authority of Abu Sa‘id and Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"If three go out on a journey,
let them appoint one of them as their leader."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
From the benefits of the hadith:
It is necessary to appoint a leader during travel,
because he resolves any problem they encounter
by having them refer to him and follow his opinion.
The leader is responsible for looking after the interests of the travelers
and warding off harm from them.
The leadership of travel is not the same as the leadership of the Caliph,
or those appointed by the Caliph.
The leadership of travel ends with the end of the journey.
On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both,
from the Prophet, peace be upon him, who said:
"The best of companions are four,
the best of detachments are four hundred,
and the best of armies are four thousand;
and twelve thousand will not be defeated due to a small number."
Narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Tirmidhi.
"Companions" means associates.
"Detachments" (saraya) are parts of an army.
From the benefits of the hadith:
A statement that the best of companions are four,
because they suffice for the intended purpose in residence and travel.
A statement that the best of detachments are four hundred men.
The best of armies are four thousand soldiers.
If an army reaches twelve thousand and is defeated,
the cause of its defeat is not the smallness of its number,
but another reason:
either because of the weakness of their faith,
or because they were deluded by themselves,
or because they committed sins,
or because of their lack of sincerity,
or other matters that prevent victory.
Chapter: Etiquette of Traveling, Stopping, Staying Overnight, and Sleeping during Travel,
and the desirability of traveling by night,
being kind to animals and considering their well-being,
and the permissibility of riding double on an animal
if it can bear it,
and the command for one who neglects its rights to fulfill them.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"If you travel in a fertile land,
give the camels their share of the earth [to graze].
If you travel in a barren land,
hasten the journey with them,
and reach your destination before they lose their marrow.
And if you stop for the night (ta‘arras),
avoid the road,
for it is the path of animals and the shelter of vermin at night."
Narrated by Muslim.
The meaning of "give the camels their share of the earth":
That is, be gentle with them in travel
so they may graze while they walk.
His saying "their marrow" (naqiyaha) refers to the marrow.
It means: hasten with them
until you reach the destination
before their marrow is depleted from the hardship of the journey.
"Ta‘ris" (stopping for the night)
is stopping during the night.
From the benefits of the hadith:
One should give animals their right to food and pasture,
and not prevent them from it.
Islam encourages kindness to animals.
It teaches the traveler how to travel.
If he travels in a fertile land,
he should let the animal eat and graze to gain strength.
If he travels in a barren land,
he should hasten until he reaches his destination with it
before it tires from the hardship of the journey.
The prohibition against harming others
by staying overnight on their path and blocking them from passing.
Warding off harm from the traveler
by informing him about the paths of vermin and animals at night.
On the authority of Abu Qatadah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
when he was on a journey
and stopped for the night,
he would lie on his right side.
And if he stopped shortly before dawn,
he would prop up his forearm and place his head on his palm.
Narrated by Muslim.
The scholars said:
He only propped up his forearm
so that he would not fall into a deep sleep,
causing the dawn prayer to pass its time,
or the beginning of its time.
From the benefits of the hadith:
A statement of the correct posture for sleeping.
The superiority of the right side over others.
The desirability of lying down after the Sunnah of Fajr and before the obligatory prayer.
The concern of the Messenger, peace be upon him,
for performing the prayer on time.
That is why he would prop up his forearm when lying down,
so that he would not fall into a deep sleep,
causing him to miss the Fajr prayer.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"You should travel by night (al-duljah),
for the earth is traversed by night."
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Al-Duljah"
means traveling at night.
From the benefits of the hadith:
The desirability of traveling at night,
because it is more restful for the traveler and his animal.
Therefore, he does not feel the length of the distance or the fatigue of the journey,
as if the earth were folded and the distances shortened.
On the authority of Abu Tha‘labah al-Khushani, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
When the people stopped at a place,
they would scatter into the mountain passes and valleys.
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Your scattering in these mountain passes and valleys
is only from the devil."
After that, they would not stop at a place
except that they would draw close to one another.
Narrated by Abu Dawud.
"Mountain passes" (shi‘ab) is the plural of "shi‘b,"
which is a path in a mountain.
"Valleys" (awdiyah) is the plural of "wadi,"
which is any opening between mountains or hills
that serves as a passage for travel.
From the benefits of the hadith:
Separation occurs due to the whispers of the devil.
The purpose of companionship is to repel what one encounters during travel,
and to assist with its hardships.
Separation prevents that.
The Shari‘ah’s concern for the gathering of bodies,
because that is more conducive to unity and showing strength.
A statement of the speed with which the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, responded
to carry out the command of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
because in it lies their honor, life, and dignity.
On the authority of Sahl ibn ‘Amr,
and it is said Sahl ibn al-Rabi‘ ibn ‘Amr al-Ansari,
known as Ibn al-Hanzaliyyah,
and he is one of the people of the Pledge of Ridwan, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, passed by a camel
whose back had shrunk to its belly [due to hunger/exhaustion].
He said:
Fear Allah regarding these speechless beasts.
Ride them when they are fit, and eat them when they are fit.
It was recorded by Abu Dawud.
"Speechless" (al-mu'jamah) refers to the dumb animal (al-'ajma').
That is, the one that cannot speak.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
The obligation of kindness toward animals.
The obligation of treating animals well.
So that one may also be able to use them in a manner that does not involve injustice toward them.
On the authority of Abu Ja'far 'Abdullah ibn Ja'far, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, had me ride behind him one day.
He whispered a secret to me that I would not disclose to anyone.
The things the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, preferred to use for concealment when answering the call of nature,
Were a mound or a grove of date palms.
Meaning a wall of date palms.
Muslim recorded it in this abridged form.
Al-Barqani added to it, with the chain of narration of Muslim, after his words:
"A grove of date palms,"
That he entered a garden belonging to a man from the Ansar.
There was a camel in it.
When it saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, it groaned and its eyes shed tears.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, went to it.
He wiped its hump—that is, its back and the area behind its ears.
It calmed down.
He then asked, "Who is the owner of this camel? To whom does this camel belong?"
A young man from the Ansar came and said, "It is mine, O Messenger of Allah."
He said, "Do you not fear Allah regarding this beast that Allah has placed in your possession?
It is complaining to me that you keep it hungry and exhaust it."
Abu Dawud also recorded it like the narration of al-Barqani.
His word "dhafrah" is a feminine singular noun.
Linguists say the "dhafrah" is the place behind the ear of a camel where it sweats.
His word "tud'ibuhu" means you exhaust it.
"The things the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, preferred to use for concealment,"
Means he used them to screen himself from the eyes of people when answering the call of nature.
"Jarjara" means it made a sound.
"Its eyes shed tears" means its eyes flowed with tears.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
The permissibility of having someone ride behind one on a mount.
Whoever has extra space on their mount,
Should assist someone who has no mount.
Carrying two people on a mount is not an injustice to it.
The permissibility of singling out certain people with a secret to the exclusion of others.
And the permissibility of not informing anyone else about this secret.
However, it should be known that this is specific to him,
And no legal ruling (fiqh) is to be based upon it.
Because matters that involve legal rulings may not be hidden or kept undisclosed.
The recommendation to be extremely careful in covering one's private parts when answering the call of nature.
A miracle among the miracles of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Which is the camel complaining to him.
Not giving an animal its due share of food,
Is an injustice toward it.
Establishing that animals have feelings, pain, and sensations.
The recognition of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, by animals.
The Shari'ah stands for justice and fairness toward every living being.
On the authority of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
When we would stop at a place,
We would not perform voluntary prayers until we had unloaded the baggage.
It was recorded by Abu Dawud with a chain of narration meeting the criteria of Muslim.
His words "we would not perform voluntary prayers,"
Mean we would not perform the optional prayer.
The meaning is,
That despite our eagerness for prayer,
We would not prioritize it over unloading the baggage and resting the animals.
Among the benefits of this hadith:
Part of complete rest,
Is removing the saddles from the animals upon stopping.
The eagerness of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, to implement the instructions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Regarding kindness toward animals.
The eagerness of a Muslim for what benefits him,
Especially during his travels.
Therefore, one should rest the animals.
Riyadh al-Salihin.