Combining and Shortening the Prayer for a Traveler Who Has Not Moved Far from His City

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, a questioner asks: Does a traveler have the right to combine and shorten the prayer if he has not traveled far from the city in which he was?

The Shaykh:
Does he? Yes.

The questioner:
Does a traveler have the right to combine and shorten the prayer if he has not traveled far from the city in which he was?

The Shaykh:
If he leaves the town, if he leaves the town and the prayer does not become obligatory upon him until after he has left, then he shortens and combines. But if the prayer becomes obligatory upon him while he is still in the town and has not yet left it, then he does not pray it as a shortened prayer; he prays it as a full prayer, as a resident’s prayer, because it became obligatory upon him while he was a resident, so he performs it as a resident’s prayer without shortening. He only shortens if he leaves the town before the time for the prayer, and the prayer only becomes obligatory upon him after he has left. In that case, he shortens and combines if he wishes.