The Distance for Shortening Prayer While Traveling
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Your Eminence! In the week before last, one of the brothers asked,So he said: that he goes (70 km) and returns, so does he have to shorten the prayer or not? I issued a ruling to him that he does not have to shorten it, because he does not need provisions or food,What is your opinion: today a person can go to Riyadh or Dammam, and return in one day without needing provisions, whether by car or by plane. I ask for clarification to remove the confusion, and may Allah reward you with good?
The criterion is custom, not the act itself. The custom is that one who goes to (70 km) and returns on the same day does not prepare for it as for a journey. But one who goes to Riyadh or to Makkah from Qasim, the custom is that he prepares for it. This is the custom: they pack their bags and bring provisions and water and containers. But the fact that it is now by plane is not the criterion. The criterion is what people were doing in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is that for such a journey, they prepare for it. Now, perhaps a person goes to a place farther than Riyadh, to distant places, with nothing but money. He finds food there in front of him in hotels and elsewhere, and does not carry it. But the criterion is the former. In the past, when people went to a nearby place (70 km) -for example- and returned in one day, they did not prepare for that duration,And it is not said: that so-and-so is a traveler. But if he wants to travel to another place or to (70 km) and stay for two or three days, then he prepares for that.
So the issue, in reality, as you have just heard from me, is the opinion of some scholars. Some scholars say that the distance for shortening is fixed and does not return to custom. If it reaches (81 km) or a little more, then this is the distance for shortening. And if it is less than that, it is not the distance for shortening. But there is no evidence for this. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) rejected it,And he said: the criterion is what is called a journey.
Now -for example- if a person goes to Riyadh in the morning and returns at the time of 'Asr, people say: he is a traveler, but if he goes to al-Ras from Unaizah and returns on the same day, people do not say: this is a traveler.
The criterion is custom, not the act itself. The custom is that one who goes to (70 km) and returns on the same day does not prepare for it as for a journey. But one who goes to Riyadh or to Makkah from Qasim, the custom is that he prepares for it. This is the custom: they pack their bags and bring provisions and water and containers. But the fact that it is now by plane is not the criterion. The criterion is what people were doing in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), which is that for such a journey, they prepare for it. Now, perhaps a person goes to a place farther than Riyadh, to distant places, with nothing but money. He finds food there in front of him in hotels and elsewhere, and does not carry it. But the criterion is the former. In the past, when people went to a nearby place (70 km) -for example- and returned in one day, they did not prepare for that duration,And it is not said: that so-and-so is a traveler. But if he wants to travel to another place or to (70 km) and stay for two or three days, then he prepares for that.
So the issue, in reality, as you have just heard from me, is the opinion of some scholars. Some scholars say that the distance for shortening is fixed and does not return to custom. If it reaches (81 km) or a little more, then this is the distance for shortening. And if it is less than that, it is not the distance for shortening. But there is no evidence for this. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) rejected it,And he said: the criterion is what is called a journey.
Now -for example- if a person goes to Riyadh in the morning and returns at the time of 'Asr, people say: he is a traveler, but if he goes to al-Ras from Unaizah and returns on the same day, people do not say: this is a traveler.