What is the limit of travel that permits shortening the prayer?
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The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Regarding combining and shortening prayers during travel, some scholars have set the limit at four days. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined and shortened prayers in Makkah for nineteen days, and likewise in the Battle of Tabuk for about two months, if the narration is authentic!
The Shaykh : The correct view is that there is no limit to the stay of a traveler. As long as a person is away from his homeland and intends to return to it, he is a traveler, even if he stays for twenty days, a year, two years, or more. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not set a limit for his Ummah. There is no authentic, good, or weak hadith from him setting a limit, absolutely not. How long was his stay in Makkah? I ask you, how long was his stay in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage?
The questioner : I do not know.
The Shaykh : Did you not just say four days? Yes? What?
The questioner : He said nineteen days.
The Shaykh : In the Year of the Conquest, it was nineteen days, and in the Farewell Pilgrimage, it was ten days, because Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said:.
As for the statement of some jurists that he stayed for four days and then went to Mina with the intention of leaving, that is an error. One would only say that when pressed in a debate. Is it reasonable for us to say that the Messenger came to perform Hajj, and then say that from the moment he set out for Hajj, he intended to leave, when he did not come for anything other than Hajj? How is that possible?
But the problem is that some people believe something first, and then try to twist the necks of the texts to fit their belief.
It is obligatory to follow the texts and not make them follow you. So the correct view is that there is no limit to the stay, even if you know that you will stay for a month in that place, you are a traveler.
What remains is: is it better to combine and shorten, or what?
We say: As for combining, do not combine except for a need, and if you combine, there is no harm. As for shortening, it is better in any case. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you and benefit you with your knowledge.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Regarding combining and shortening prayers during travel, some scholars have set the limit at four days. It is reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined and shortened prayers in Makkah for nineteen days, and likewise in the Battle of Tabuk for about two months, if the narration is authentic!
The Shaykh : The correct view is that there is no limit to the stay of a traveler. As long as a person is away from his homeland and intends to return to it, he is a traveler, even if he stays for twenty days, a year, two years, or more. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not set a limit for his Ummah. There is no authentic, good, or weak hadith from him setting a limit, absolutely not. How long was his stay in Makkah? I ask you, how long was his stay in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage?
The questioner : I do not know.
The Shaykh : Did you not just say four days? Yes? What?
The questioner : He said nineteen days.
The Shaykh : In the Year of the Conquest, it was nineteen days, and in the Farewell Pilgrimage, it was ten days, because Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
He was asked: How long did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah? He said: Ten days.
سُئل كم أقام النّبيّ صلّى الله عليه وسلّم في مكّة؟ قال: عشرة أيّامAs for the statement of some jurists that he stayed for four days and then went to Mina with the intention of leaving, that is an error. One would only say that when pressed in a debate. Is it reasonable for us to say that the Messenger came to perform Hajj, and then say that from the moment he set out for Hajj, he intended to leave, when he did not come for anything other than Hajj? How is that possible?
But the problem is that some people believe something first, and then try to twist the necks of the texts to fit their belief.
It is obligatory to follow the texts and not make them follow you. So the correct view is that there is no limit to the stay, even if you know that you will stay for a month in that place, you are a traveler.
What remains is: is it better to combine and shorten, or what?
We say: As for combining, do not combine except for a need, and if you combine, there is no harm. As for shortening, it is better in any case. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you and benefit you with your knowledge.