The number of days for which a traveler shortens his prayer and when he completes it

Question:
May Allah reward you with good. He says: We are residents of Najran, and we went to Jeddah to spend the month of Ramadan. I stayed at my daughter’s house in Ta’if for two weeks. I was shortening the prayer. And in Jeddah, at my son’s house, I was shortening the prayer. Then my son said to me, “Your son’s house is like your own house; pray the four-rak’ah prayer as four rak’ahs.” So I prayed the four-rak’ah prayer as four rak’ahs. What is the ruling on that, and what should I do?

Answer:
As for his saying that his son’s house is like his own house, that is not correct. As long as her house and residence are in Najran, and she only came as a visitor, she is a traveler. However, if her stay is more than four days, and she knows that—she knows that she will stay for more than four days—then it is obligatory for her to complete the prayer, because the travel has ended and she has become a resident, and her ruling is the ruling of residents. So she fasts Ramadan and completes the prayer. But if she does not know the duration of her stay and does not know how long it will be, then there is no harm in shortening the prayer, because she is still a traveler. Yes.