The ruling on one who shortens the prayer and stays for more than four days
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The third case is a man who traveled for the sake of knowledge a distance that permits shortening the prayer. He stayed for three days and was shortening the prayer. After that, he underwent a surgical procedure, and the doctor told him, “You will stay here for fifteen days.” So he continued to shorten the prayer from that point on. Is this correct? If not, what is required of him?
Answer:
If he knew that he would stay for more than four days, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer, according to the majority of scholars. It is obligatory for him to complete the prayer. However, since that time has passed and he prayed and shortened the prayer during that past period, his prayer is valid, if Allah wills. But in the future, he should not do this; he should complete the prayer in the future. As for the past, his prayer is valid, if Allah wills. Yes.
The third case is a man who traveled for the sake of knowledge a distance that permits shortening the prayer. He stayed for three days and was shortening the prayer. After that, he underwent a surgical procedure, and the doctor told him, “You will stay here for fifteen days.” So he continued to shorten the prayer from that point on. Is this correct? If not, what is required of him?
Answer:
If he knew that he would stay for more than four days, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer, according to the majority of scholars. It is obligatory for him to complete the prayer. However, since that time has passed and he prayed and shortened the prayer during that past period, his prayer is valid, if Allah wills. But in the future, he should not do this; he should complete the prayer in the future. As for the past, his prayer is valid, if Allah wills. Yes.
Source
شرح بلوغ المرام من أدلة الأحكام [ صالح الفوزان ]، تتمة باب صدقة التطوع — islamhouse.com (14:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.