Does a journey that is contingent on a desire of unknown duration permit shortening the prayer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question : He asks: Is a journey that is contingent on a desire of unknown duration?
Answer : It permits shortening the prayer. For example, a student of knowledge travels and says, “I will study under this shaykh, and I will not return until I have completed my studies with him.” What about a man whose hometown has been lost due to his frequent moving, so that he does not settle in one place until he moves to another? As for the one who has no hometown, every land is his hometown, and he does not shorten the prayer in it. As for the one who has a hometown, as long as he has left his hometown with the intention of returning to it, he is a traveler, whether his journey is long or short.
The presenter : Clear. All right.
Answer : It permits shortening the prayer. For example, a student of knowledge travels and says, “I will study under this shaykh, and I will not return until I have completed my studies with him.” What about a man whose hometown has been lost due to his frequent moving, so that he does not settle in one place until he moves to another? As for the one who has no hometown, every land is his hometown, and he does not shorten the prayer in it. As for the one who has a hometown, as long as he has left his hometown with the intention of returning to it, he is a traveler, whether his journey is long or short.
The presenter : Clear. All right.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ محمد بن صالح العثيمين»، 200 - 332 هل السفر المعلق ببغية لا يدري متى تنتهي يبيح له القصر؟ الفتاوى الثلاثية - ابن عثيمين — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.