The duration of travel during which a traveler shortens his prayer
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If a person travels to a city and the duration of his travel is four years, does he shorten the prayer?
This is a matter in which the scholars have disagreed: is there a specific duration after which the ruling of travel ceases, or is a person considered a traveler as long as he is away from his homeland, no matter how long the duration? The second opinion is the correct one: if a person does not intend to reside permanently in that country, but stays for the purpose of study, treatment, or something else, and intends to return when his work and business are finished, then he is a traveler. However, if he is in a place where the congregational prayer is held, it is obligatory for him to attend the mosque and pray with the people. Likewise, it is obligatory for him to perform the Friday prayer, and it is not permissible for him to be late for the congregational prayer or the Friday prayer, because travel is not an excuse that removes the obligation of the congregation or the Friday prayer. Consequently, he will complete the prayer if he follows an imam who completes the prayer.
This is a matter in which the scholars have disagreed: is there a specific duration after which the ruling of travel ceases, or is a person considered a traveler as long as he is away from his homeland, no matter how long the duration? The second opinion is the correct one: if a person does not intend to reside permanently in that country, but stays for the purpose of study, treatment, or something else, and intends to return when his work and business are finished, then he is a traveler. However, if he is in a place where the congregational prayer is held, it is obligatory for him to attend the mosque and pray with the people. Likewise, it is obligatory for him to perform the Friday prayer, and it is not permissible for him to be late for the congregational prayer or the Friday prayer, because travel is not an excuse that removes the obligation of the congregation or the Friday prayer. Consequently, he will complete the prayer if he follows an imam who completes the prayer.