The ruling on combining and shortening prayers when returning from travel

Question:
He says: I went on a journey of a distance exceeding two hundred and fifty kilometers. The time for the Zuhr prayer came, and I said to myself, “I will pray Zuhr with 'Asr as a shortened prayer.” I returned, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived while I was on the road, and the distance between me and the town where I reside is less than eighty-four kilometers. Do I pray Zuhr with 'Asr as a shortened prayer, or do I pray Zuhr as a shortened prayer and 'Asr as it is usually prayed? There is a difference in opinion on this. He returned from it, and it varies.

Answer:
If he was in the city and then returned, he is considered a traveler in his return, just as he is considered a traveler in his departure. This is a text regarding prayer, and he combines the two prayers, either by advancing the later one or delaying the earlier one. However, if by “I returned” he means he turned back from partway along the road, as we have detailed: if he covered a distance of eighty kilometers or more from the road, he also has the ruling of a traveler. So, if he wishes, he shortens and combines. But if his return was less than eighty kilometers, meaning he covered less than eighty kilometers of the road, then turned back and returned to his town, he has the ruling of a resident. He completes both prayers and prays each prayer at its prescribed time. May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you well.