The ruling on shortening the prayer at Riyadh Airport
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
And King Khalid al-Jawali said: The passengers boarded the plane, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived.
The Shaykh:
Other than you, [regarding] the skins. Yes.
The questioner:
So he sent the plane to [the location for] prayer, and the passengers boarded the plane, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived. So he prayed with the congregation only two rak'ahs and concluded the prayer, and everyone completed the remaining rak'ahs of the prayer. What is your opinion of his action, knowing that a person said to me: It is not permissible for you to shorten [the prayer].
The Shaykh:
If he is from the people of Riyadh, leaving Riyadh, and he is at the Riyadh airport, then this is a point of difficulty that depends on whether the Riyadh airport is outside the city or inside the city? If it is outside the city, then shortening is valid because he left the town intending to travel. If the traveler leaves the town intending to travel, he shortens the prayer, even if he is close to the buildings, as long as he has left. But if the Riyadh airport is inside Riyadh, it is not permissible for him to shorten because he is still in the town. This requires verification regarding the Riyadh airport, because now it is problematic; some people say it is inside Riyadh, and the residential area extends to the airport. On this basis, it is considered inside Riyadh, and it is not permissible for one who travels from Riyadh to shorten [the prayer] at the airport. But if the airport is outside the buildings...
...the buildings end before the airport, and there is a distance between the airport and the buildings, even if it is small, then he is considered a traveler, and it is permissible for him to shorten [the prayer] on the plane or in the waiting area, or there is no harm.
The questioner:
And the change of the Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
In any case, the safest course for the conscience is to complete [the prayer]. The most cautious and safest course for the conscience is to complete [the prayer] for the people of Riyadh if they travel to the airport and go out to the airport. The most cautious thing is that they complete [the prayer] if they pray at the airport, because it is a place of doubt, and the default is to complete the prayer. The default is to complete the prayer, and one does not depart from this default except when the beginning of the journey is established. When the beginning of the journey is established, the dispensation applies. Yes.
And King Khalid al-Jawali said: The passengers boarded the plane, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived.
The Shaykh:
Other than you, [regarding] the skins. Yes.
The questioner:
So he sent the plane to [the location for] prayer, and the passengers boarded the plane, and the time for the 'Asr prayer arrived. So he prayed with the congregation only two rak'ahs and concluded the prayer, and everyone completed the remaining rak'ahs of the prayer. What is your opinion of his action, knowing that a person said to me: It is not permissible for you to shorten [the prayer].
The Shaykh:
If he is from the people of Riyadh, leaving Riyadh, and he is at the Riyadh airport, then this is a point of difficulty that depends on whether the Riyadh airport is outside the city or inside the city? If it is outside the city, then shortening is valid because he left the town intending to travel. If the traveler leaves the town intending to travel, he shortens the prayer, even if he is close to the buildings, as long as he has left. But if the Riyadh airport is inside Riyadh, it is not permissible for him to shorten because he is still in the town. This requires verification regarding the Riyadh airport, because now it is problematic; some people say it is inside Riyadh, and the residential area extends to the airport. On this basis, it is considered inside Riyadh, and it is not permissible for one who travels from Riyadh to shorten [the prayer] at the airport. But if the airport is outside the buildings...
...the buildings end before the airport, and there is a distance between the airport and the buildings, even if it is small, then he is considered a traveler, and it is permissible for him to shorten [the prayer] on the plane or in the waiting area, or there is no harm.
The questioner:
And the change of the Shaykh.
The Shaykh:
In any case, the safest course for the conscience is to complete [the prayer]. The most cautious and safest course for the conscience is to complete [the prayer] for the people of Riyadh if they travel to the airport and go out to the airport. The most cautious thing is that they complete [the prayer] if they pray at the airport, because it is a place of doubt, and the default is to complete the prayer. The default is to complete the prayer, and one does not depart from this default except when the beginning of the journey is established. When the beginning of the journey is established, the dispensation applies. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تابع باب الآنية - 1 — islamhouse.com (10:47)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.