The ruling on shortening the prayer for one who intends a long stay
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, I work outside Saudi Arabia for several years, and I have seen some of my Muslim brothers praying the prayers combined and shortened while they are in the same situation as me. When I rebuked them, they said that some scholars issue a fatwa permitting shortening as long as one intends to return to his country, no matter how long the time takes.
Answer:
Yes, this is the opinion of some scholars, but it is incorrect; it is an incorrect opinion. The correct view, and the one held by the majority, is that if a person intends to stay for more than four days, the state of travel is lifted for him, and he becomes a resident with the ruling of residents. He completes the prayer, does not combine, and fasts in Ramadan without breaking the fast, because he is a resident and not a traveler. The state of travel is ended by the intention to stay. For example, one who intends to stay to study in a foreign country.
Or one who stays for an ambassador or as an employee at an embassy, intending to stay for a long period; his state of travel is ended because he rents a house, brings his family, and settles down. How can he be a traveler if he is settled and has rented a house? A traveler might rent a house for a year, two years, or three years, or perhaps for a day or two, but renting for months means he is a resident who takes the ruling of residents.
It does not benefit you that so-and-so said such-and-such, or that so-and-so granted a dispensation. This is an error among the errors of scholars. You must follow the evidence and follow the stronger position, leaving the weaker position, because this matter is a responsibility on you. Your responsibility is not cleared by saying that so-and-so said such-and-such, or that so-and-so said such-and-such.
May Allah reward you. Honorable Shaykh, I work outside Saudi Arabia for several years, and I have seen some of my Muslim brothers praying the prayers combined and shortened while they are in the same situation as me. When I rebuked them, they said that some scholars issue a fatwa permitting shortening as long as one intends to return to his country, no matter how long the time takes.
Answer:
Yes, this is the opinion of some scholars, but it is incorrect; it is an incorrect opinion. The correct view, and the one held by the majority, is that if a person intends to stay for more than four days, the state of travel is lifted for him, and he becomes a resident with the ruling of residents. He completes the prayer, does not combine, and fasts in Ramadan without breaking the fast, because he is a resident and not a traveler. The state of travel is ended by the intention to stay. For example, one who intends to stay to study in a foreign country.
Or one who stays for an ambassador or as an employee at an embassy, intending to stay for a long period; his state of travel is ended because he rents a house, brings his family, and settles down. How can he be a traveler if he is settled and has rented a house? A traveler might rent a house for a year, two years, or three years, or perhaps for a day or two, but renting for months means he is a resident who takes the ruling of residents.
It does not benefit you that so-and-so said such-and-such, or that so-and-so granted a dispensation. This is an error among the errors of scholars. You must follow the evidence and follow the stronger position, leaving the weaker position, because this matter is a responsibility on you. Your responsibility is not cleared by saying that so-and-so said such-and-such, or that so-and-so said such-and-such.
Source
قصر الصلاة في السفر — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.