Travelling as a Muslim

Before you leave

• Look up prayer times for your destination, and for any long stopover, so you know which prayers fall during the trip.
• Pack a small prayer mat, or plan to use a clean towel.
• Check whether your departure airport has a chapel or prayer space, and where it is.
• For a long drive, pack snacks and a meal you know are halal.
• If you wear socks or boots all day, read the FAQ on wiping over socks before you go.

Praying on a plane

A Hanafi answer from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani on SeekersGuidance says you still pray the obligatory prayer on a plane when its time comes in. If you reasonably can, stand, for example near the galley or an exit, and bow and prostrate as normal. If you cannot, pray in your seat, and make a real prostration if that is possible. Work out the prayer times from your departure time, arrival time and route.

The schools differ on praying seated on a plane and on whether a prayer prayed that way has to be repeated later. The answer above is Hanafi, so ask your teacher what your school says.

• Do not skip the prayer because the plane is moving.
• Do not wait for landing if the prayer time will end before you get there.

At the airport

Some Canadian airports have a multi-faith chapel. At Toronto Pearson, the Terminal 1 chapel is before security, on Level 1 Arrivals, and is open to anyone at the airport. It is an interfaith space, not a Muslim prayer room. We have only checked Pearson so far, so look up your own airport before you fly. A quiet corner by the gate also works, as long as you are out of the walkway.

In a hotel

Use the qibla finder to get the direction from your room. A clean towel or a jacket laid on the floor is enough to pray on. Prayer mats are a convenience, not a requirement.

Halal food on the road

Small towns may have no halal butcher or restaurant. Fish and vegetarian dishes are an easy fallback almost anywhere. A SeekersGuidance answer for new Muslims, checked by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat, says eating pescatarian for a while is a fair option when halal meat is hard to find. It adds that you do not need to investigate every possible cross-contamination, and that fried food is the main thing to ask about, because fryer oil is often shared.

Kosher meat is a school difference. A Hanafi answer on SeekersGuidance explains that the Hanafi and Hanbali schools require God's name to be said over each animal. The Shafi'i school treats that as recommended, and some Malikis hold it is a condition only for Muslims. The answer concludes that kosher meat can be eaten, as most contemporary scholars have ruled. Ask your teacher whether kosher is a fallback for you.

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