11. Etiquette of Traveling

1. Return trusts to their owners, settle grievances and debts, and leave for your family sufficient provisions. Never travel alone except in cases of emergency when you find no company. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “One passenger is one devil, two passengers are two devils, but three passengers make a caravan.” (Abu Dawud, Nasa’i and Tirmidhi)

2. On traveling, choose good company and select one of you as your leader. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “When three people set out on a journey they should appoint one of them as a leader.´ (Abu Dawud)

3. You should inform your family of the time of your arrival back to them. Do not return home at night as this is undesirable so that you should not see anything that you dislikes. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “If one of you is absent from home for a long time, he should not come back to his family by night”. In another version of the Hadith, the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) prohibited a man returning home by night. (Bukhari and Muslim)

4. He should say goodbye to his family, friends and companions, as the Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “If one of you intends to set out on a journey, let him say goodbye to his brothers, for Allah Almighty will make in their prayers a blessing for him.”

5. He should return home quickly after he achieve the objective of his journey. The Prophet (sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said: “Travel is a piece of anguish as it deprives each traveler (of you) of the facilities of eating, drinking and sleeping. Therefore, when one of you has completed the purpose of his journey he should return home quickly.” (Bukhari and Muslim)