If a person travels to a city other than the one in which he resides and stays for a month or half a month, for example, is it permissible for him to shorten the prayer, and what is the duration?
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The questioner : If a person travels to a city other than the one in which he resides and stays there for a period of time, such as a month or half a month, is it permissible for him to shorten the prayer? What is the duration in which he shortens the prayer? And what is the best course of action, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for a person who travels to a country and stays there to fulfill his need and then returns to his country, that he prays with the congregation, because the congregation is not dropped for the traveler. The evidence for this is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray with his companions in congregation during battle, and this usually occurs during travel. In fact, I do not know to this day that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fought in a settled area. Therefore, congregational prayer is obligatory for travelers and for residents, and for one who stays in a country to fulfill his need and then returns to his country.
However, if he misses the prayer, there is no blame on him for shortening the prayer as long as he is a traveler, because there is no evidence indicating that the duration of shortening is cut off by a specific, known number of days. Rather, as long as a person has stayed in this country to fulfill his need and will return when it is finished, he is a traveler, whether he specified the duration or not. This is what has become clear to me from the legal evidence.
Some scholars hold that if he intends to stay for more than four days, the ruling of travel is cut off for him and it becomes obligatory for him to complete the prayer. Some hold that if he stays for nineteen days, and some hold that if he stays for fifteen days. The disagreement on this is extensive, to the point that it has exceeded twenty opinions from the scholars of knowledge. However, there is no explicit, authentic text specifying the duration by any number.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : It is obligatory for a person who travels to a country and stays there to fulfill his need and then returns to his country, that he prays with the congregation, because the congregation is not dropped for the traveler. The evidence for this is that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to pray with his companions in congregation during battle, and this usually occurs during travel. In fact, I do not know to this day that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fought in a settled area. Therefore, congregational prayer is obligatory for travelers and for residents, and for one who stays in a country to fulfill his need and then returns to his country.
However, if he misses the prayer, there is no blame on him for shortening the prayer as long as he is a traveler, because there is no evidence indicating that the duration of shortening is cut off by a specific, known number of days. Rather, as long as a person has stayed in this country to fulfill his need and will return when it is finished, he is a traveler, whether he specified the duration or not. This is what has become clear to me from the legal evidence.
Some scholars hold that if he intends to stay for more than four days, the ruling of travel is cut off for him and it becomes obligatory for him to complete the prayer. Some hold that if he stays for nineteen days, and some hold that if he stays for fifteen days. The disagreement on this is extensive, to the point that it has exceeded twenty opinions from the scholars of knowledge. However, there is no explicit, authentic text specifying the duration by any number.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.