Breaking the Fast and Shortening the Prayer for the Driver Who Travels Frequently
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
He says: A person who works as a driver and travels the distance that permits shortening the prayer, does he shorten the prayer even if this is his situation?
The Shaykh:
As for me, what is it?
The questioner:
A person who works as a driver and travels the distance that permits shortening the prayer, does he break his fast and shorten the prayer even if this is his regular job? What is required of him if he breaks his fast?
The Shaykh:
Yes, the owner of the car who travels back and forth on the road is more deserving of the dispensation than the one who travels once or twice a year. The hardship on him is greater, so he may break his fast and shorten the prayer, because he is more in need of the dispensation due to the frequency of his travels. This is unless his travel is constant and he has no home, like the sailor; they say the sailor, the owner of the bed, has no home; his family is with him, and he does not intend to reside in a country. His ruling is the ruling of a resident, because his state is always a state of travel; he has no home in which to reside. This is considered a resident, so fasting is obligatory on him, and [prayer is obligatory on him] because there is no end to his travel. This is unlike the one who intends to reside in a country, even if it is for part of the year; this is considered a traveler who takes the dispensation. In fact, he is more deserving of the dispensation than the one who does not travel except once or twice a year, because the hardship on this one who travels back and forth is greater. Hardship brings about ease. Yes.
He says: A person who works as a driver and travels the distance that permits shortening the prayer, does he shorten the prayer even if this is his situation?
The Shaykh:
As for me, what is it?
The questioner:
A person who works as a driver and travels the distance that permits shortening the prayer, does he break his fast and shorten the prayer even if this is his regular job? What is required of him if he breaks his fast?
The Shaykh:
Yes, the owner of the car who travels back and forth on the road is more deserving of the dispensation than the one who travels once or twice a year. The hardship on him is greater, so he may break his fast and shorten the prayer, because he is more in need of the dispensation due to the frequency of his travels. This is unless his travel is constant and he has no home, like the sailor; they say the sailor, the owner of the bed, has no home; his family is with him, and he does not intend to reside in a country. His ruling is the ruling of a resident, because his state is always a state of travel; he has no home in which to reside. This is considered a resident, so fasting is obligatory on him, and [prayer is obligatory on him] because there is no end to his travel. This is unlike the one who intends to reside in a country, even if it is for part of the year; this is considered a traveler who takes the dispensation. In fact, he is more deserving of the dispensation than the one who does not travel except once or twice a year, because the hardship on this one who travels back and forth is greater. Hardship brings about ease. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تتمة باب المسح على الخفين — islamhouse.com (1:18:48)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.