I said to Umar bin Khattab, "'There is no blame upon you if you shorten the prayer, if you fear that those who disbelieve may harm you' [Nisa 4:101], yet the people are now safe."Umar replied, "I wondered at the very thing you wonder at, so I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ about it."He said, "It is a charity that Allah has bestowed upon you, so accept His charity."
قلت لعمر بن الخطاب: {فليس عليكم جناح أن تقصروا من الصلوة إن خفتم أن يفتنكم الذين كفروا} [سورة النساء: ١٠١] فقد أمن الناس. فقال: عجبت مما عجبت منه. فسألت رسول الله ﷺ عن ذلك فقال: صدقة تصدق الله بها عليكم فاقبلوا صدقته.
Sahih. Muslim narrated it in the Book of the Prayer of Travelers (686) through several routes from Abdullah bin Idris, from Ibn Jurayj, from Ibn Abu Ammar, from Abdullah bin Babah, from Yaala bin Umaya, and he related the hadith.Abdul-Razzaq also narrated it from Ibn Jurayj, who said, "I heard Abdul-Rahman bin Abdullah bin Abu Ammar relate it from Abdullah bin Babah," with the same wording. Tirmidhi (3034) and Abu Dawud (1199) narrated it through this route. As for Nasai (3/116) and Ibn Majah (1065), they narrated it through the route of Abdullah bin Idris, just as Muslim did.Shafii said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ thereby showed that shortening the prayer while traveling without fear is an act of charity from Allah, and charity is a concession, not an obligation from Allah that they must shorten it."Ayesha said, "In all of that, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would sometimes pray in full during his travels, and sometimes shorten it."