How to calculate distance in religious matters
Is the distance between two locations of Friday Prayers calculated based on the way that people wend or the straight distance between the two locations, and what is the reason for this matter?
The itinerant distance is the criterion for the calculation of distance in religious issues. The reason for this ruling is that what could generally be understood from traditional proofs (ḥadīths) is the itinerant distance which is calculated based on the normal way traversed by people. This is particularly emphasized because usually the direct way between two locations is shorter than the normal itinerant distance between them that people usually wend. Therefore if the direct way were the criterion for calculating distance in religious issues then it should have been explicitly mentioned in narrations.
