The ruling on shortening the prayer for one who takes the longer route to become a traveler

Question : May Allah bless you. We said that as for the one who travels, he estimates that he will not lead the prayer while traveling, and it is contrary to the view of may Allah have mercy on him that if he has two routes, may Allah guide him, that he shortens the prayer.

Answer : If he takes the longer route without the intention to shorten, there is no doubt that he intends it, because he has a valid purpose; the longer route may be easier or safer or something similar. But if he takes the longer route in order to shorten, this is the point of difficulty. If he takes the longer route to shorten, this is a matter of difficulty, and what appears is that he does not shorten. However, you know that the stronger position is that the criterion is what is called travel, and on this basis, there is no difference between the long and the short.