The teacher who travels from his country to another country for work: does he shorten the prayer for the duration of his stay and work there, or does he complete it?
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The questioner : What is the ruling for a teacher who travels from his country to another country for work? Does he shorten the prayer for the duration of his stay in the country where he works, or does he complete it? I ask for your guidance.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
The teacher who travels to another country to teach there: the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, have differed regarding the termination of his travel.
Some scholars say that if a traveling man intends to stay for more than four days, he must complete the prayer and may not avail himself of the dispensations of travel. However, he is not considered a resident, so Friday prayer is not established by him alone, and it is not obligatory upon him except with others. Thus, they rule for him with the ruling of travel in one aspect, and the ruling of residence in another aspect.
Or they divide people into three categories: the traveler, the resident, and the settler.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned that dividing people into these three categories—the traveler, the resident, and the settler—has no evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, or scholarly consensus.
Some scholars say: if the traveler intends to stay for fifteen days or more, he must complete the prayer; if he intends to stay for less than that, he remains a traveler.
Some of them say: if he intends to stay for more than nineteen days, he must complete the prayer; if he intends to stay for less than that, he is a traveler.
The opinions on this matter are numerous; al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, enumerated them in "al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab", and they reached more than twenty opinions.
The view that appears stronger to me is that it depends on his intention. If he has intended an absolute residence in this country to which he traveled, he is a resident, and the rulings of travel are terminated for him, and it is not permissible for him to shorten the prayer.
As for if he did not intend that, but only intended to stay for a need, and when that need ends he returns to his country, he is a traveler, whether he specified the duration or not.
However, I say that one who stays in a country, even for a day and a night, or less or more, even if he did not intend to settle or have an absolute residence, is obligated to pray with the congregation, and it is not permissible for him to be absent from it, due to the generality of the evidence indicating the obligation of the congregation, and the absence of any specific text that excludes the traveler from the obligation. It is known that if he prays with the congregation and his imam completes the prayer, he is obligated to complete it, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 635 But if he missed the prayer, or was in a country where the congregation is not established, or was far from the mosque, then in this case, the permissibility of shortening or not depends on the disagreement we mentioned earlier. Nevertheless, if he completes the prayer, he is not to be blamed, due to the disagreement among scholars on this issue.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
The teacher who travels to another country to teach there: the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, have differed regarding the termination of his travel.
Some scholars say that if a traveling man intends to stay for more than four days, he must complete the prayer and may not avail himself of the dispensations of travel. However, he is not considered a resident, so Friday prayer is not established by him alone, and it is not obligatory upon him except with others. Thus, they rule for him with the ruling of travel in one aspect, and the ruling of residence in another aspect.
Or they divide people into three categories: the traveler, the resident, and the settler.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned that dividing people into these three categories—the traveler, the resident, and the settler—has no evidence from the Book, the Sunnah, or scholarly consensus.
Some scholars say: if the traveler intends to stay for fifteen days or more, he must complete the prayer; if he intends to stay for less than that, he remains a traveler.
Some of them say: if he intends to stay for more than nineteen days, he must complete the prayer; if he intends to stay for less than that, he is a traveler.
The opinions on this matter are numerous; al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, enumerated them in "al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab", and they reached more than twenty opinions.
The view that appears stronger to me is that it depends on his intention. If he has intended an absolute residence in this country to which he traveled, he is a resident, and the rulings of travel are terminated for him, and it is not permissible for him to shorten the prayer.
As for if he did not intend that, but only intended to stay for a need, and when that need ends he returns to his country, he is a traveler, whether he specified the duration or not.
However, I say that one who stays in a country, even for a day and a night, or less or more, even if he did not intend to settle or have an absolute residence, is obligated to pray with the congregation, and it is not permissible for him to be absent from it, due to the generality of the evidence indicating the obligation of the congregation, and the absence of any specific text that excludes the traveler from the obligation. It is known that if he prays with the congregation and his imam completes the prayer, he is obligated to complete it, due to the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
and pray whatever you get (with the people) and complete the rest which you have missed
ما أدركتم فصلوا ، وما فاتكم فأتمواThe questioner : May Allah bless you.