Ruling on travel for one who intends to reside for a year or more
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
We are a group of young men, some from al-Madinah and some from al-Qassim. We were employed in the Dawami region to teach, and we intended to reside for one year, but this period may be extended for reasons beyond our control,Meaning: such as from the Ministry of Education, for example. So, do we shorten the prayer during this period or not?
We say: It is not permissible for you to shorten the prayer; because the matter of returning to your homes is not in your hands. The default is that an employee remains in his position in its location unless something new occurs that obligates his return to his home or to another place. So, what I see for you is that you should not shorten the prayer and should not avail yourselves of the dispensations of travel. This is unlike the person who sets a time for himself and that he will return after a month or two months or the like; this person may shorten the prayer, except that if he is in a town where the congregation is established, it is obligatory for him to pray with the congregation.
We say: It is not permissible for you to shorten the prayer; because the matter of returning to your homes is not in your hands. The default is that an employee remains in his position in its location unless something new occurs that obligates his return to his home or to another place. So, what I see for you is that you should not shorten the prayer and should not avail yourselves of the dispensations of travel. This is unlike the person who sets a time for himself and that he will return after a month or two months or the like; this person may shorten the prayer, except that if he is in a town where the congregation is established, it is obligatory for him to pray with the congregation.