The Ruling on Shortening the Prayer When Visiting Family in One’s Original Hometown

The questioner : A man says: I am a man who came to al-Qasim several years ago to seek knowledge and study. My father, my brothers, and my relatives are in another city in the Kingdom. During the vacation days, I travel to visit my family. Do I shorten the prayer during the visit, knowing that I generally do not stay more than ten days, and then I return to al-Qasim?

The Shaykh : Yes, this issue is not specific to the student of knowledge. Rather, it applies to the student of knowledge and to others. If a person moves from his original hometown to another city and then returns to it for a visit, to attend to a need, or something similar, he is considered a traveler, even if it is his original hometown. The evidence for this is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened the prayer in Makkah, and Makkah was his original hometown. He married there, and his children came to him there. All of his children came to him in Makkah except Ibrahim. Based on this, we say to this questioner: If your coming to al-Qasim was a move from your original hometown, then your visit to your family is considered travel, even if they are in your original hometown. However, if you consider al-Qasim to be your homeland and your original hometown to be your homeland, then you have two homelands. There is no harm in a person having two homelands. For this reason, if a person comes to al-Qasim in the winter days and goes to al-Ta’if in the summer days,
and he takes al-Ta’if as his homeland in the summer days and al-Qasim as his homeland in the winter days, we tell him: You now have two homelands. You do not shorten the prayer in al-Qasim nor in al-Ta’if, because you have taken both countries as your homeland. This is unlike the person who settles in a place and then goes to his original place for a visit or for work; this person is considered a traveler, even if he has come to his original hometown.