The Sunnah Way of Returning Home from Travel

Question: What is the Sunnah way of returning to the house after travel, and is there a supplication that the Prophet ﷺ used to say when he returned to Madinah from a battle or from ʿUmrah?

Summary:

Practical application: 1. When you arrive in the city or neighborhood, do not hurry to enter the house if possible, go to the mosque and pray two voluntary units, this was the action of the Prophet ﷺ. 2. If you return after ʿUmrah or Hajj or battle, make for yourself remembrance and takbīr as reported in the hadith of Ibn Umar, it is enough that you adhere to the remembrance, praise Allah, and seek forgiveness. 3. If your arrival is at night then inform your family or wait until the morning, do not open the door upon them suddenly.

Answer:

In the name of Allah, all praise is due to Allah, and may Peace and Blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)

The Sunnah when returning from travel:

1. That the person coming back begins with the mosque and prays in it two units of prayer as a voluntary act before meeting or entering the house.

    2. If the return is from a battle or from Hajj or ʿUmrah:

      From the Sunnah:

      • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 6385, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1344Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
        Whenever Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) returned from a Ghazwa or Hajj or `Umra, he used to say, "Allahu Akbar," three times; whenever he went up a high place, he used to say, "La ilaha illal-lahu wahdahu la sharika lahu, lahu-l-mulk wa lahu-l-hamd, wa huwa'ala kulli Shai 'in qadir. Ayibuna ta'ibuna 'abiduna lirabbina hamidun. Sadaqa-l-lahu wa'dahu, wa nasara`Abdahu wa hazama-l-ahzaba wahdahu."

      3. It is recommended that a man should not surprise his family at night, the Prophet forbade arriving suddenly at night to the family if the absence was long, so it is better to inform them or to enter by day if possible.

      From the Sunnah:

      • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ MuslimNarrated by Kaʿb ibn Mālik (رضي الله عنه):
        Ka'b bin Malik (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: Whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ returned from a journey, he would proceed straight to the mosque and perform two Rak'ah of (optional) prayer.
      • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 3084, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1344aNarrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
        When the Prophet (ﷺ) returned (from Jihad), he would say Takbir thrice and add, "We are returning, if Allah wishes, with repentance and worshipping and praising (our Lord) and prostrating ourselves before our Lord. Allah fulfilled His Promise and helped His Slave, and He Alone defeated the (infidel) clans."
      • Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 5246, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 715aNarrated by Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh (رضي الله عنه):
        The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "If you enter (your town) at night (after coming from a journey), do not enter upon your family till the woman whose husband was absent (from the house) shaves her pubic hair and the woman with unkempt hair, combs her hair" Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) further said, "(O Jabir!) Seek to have offspring, seek to have offspring!"

      And Allah knows best.

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