Does a traveler’s stay in a country break the ruling of travel or not?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
O Shaykh, we have heard a fatwa from your eminence that has circulated among students of knowledge, concerning the issue of shortening the prayer while traveling. Many students of knowledge say that the Shaykh stated: if students of knowledge arrive from countries outside the Kingdom, they shorten the prayer for the duration of their stay if they pray individually. We would like the evidence for this in detail. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This issue, may Allah bless you, is whether a traveler’s stay in a country breaks the ruling of travel or not.
The scholars differ on this issue with more than twenty opinions, as mentioned by al-Nawawi in *al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab*. This is because there is no definitive text in the issue that settles the disagreement between the differing parties. Therefore, Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) and a group of scholars held that the issue reduces to settling down or traveling, and that a person’s state is limited to either settling down or traveling. Settling down includes a permanent stay that is not defined by a specific job or time period. This is the opinion that the soul finds peace with, and it is what the apparent indications of the legal evidence point to, because there is not a single letter in the Qur'an or the Sunnah that indicates a specific duration that breaks the ruling of travel if a person intends it. If anyone has evidence for that, let them help us with it.
The greatest evidence for them—those who set a limit—is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for different durations. Some took the minimum, and some took the maximum. For example, Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:.
Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), al-Shafi'i, and I think Imam Malik, say: "If he intends to stay more than four days, he completes the prayer; if he intends four days or less, he shortens it". However, al-Shafi'i differed from Imam Ahmad:
Al-Shafi'i says: the day of arrival and the day of departure are not counted, so the days are four clear days. Based on this school of thought, how many days is that?
The questioner : Six.
The Shaykh : Six: the day of arrival, the day of departure, and four clear days in between. Imam Ahmad counts the day of arrival and the day of departure. What is the evidence for this?
The evidence is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was the last journey he made, arrived in Mecca on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and stayed there on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday morning, he went out to Mina. It is authentically reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he shortened the prayer during this period. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:, because he arrived on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and left on the morning of the fourteenth of Dhul-Hijjah, making the days ten: four before going out to the sacred sites, and the rest in the sacred sites.
But I ask you now: is this evidence for setting a limit or evidence for not setting a limit?
In reality, it is evidence for not setting a limit, not for setting a limit. Why?
Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Whoever stays more than four days, let him complete the prayer." Rather, the four days were coincidental. He (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that people arrive in Mecca for Hajj before the fourth day, meaning not all pilgrims arrive only on the fourth day or later. Absolutely not. Pilgrims arrive on the fourth, the third, the second, the first, at the end of Dhul-Qa'dah, and even from Shawwal:[Al-Baqarah 2:197]: "The first of Shawwal." If the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), knowing that people arrive before the fourth day, did not tell the people: "Whoever arrives before the fourth day, let him complete the prayer," it is known that completing the prayer is not obligatory. For this reason, when he prayed in Mecca in the Year of the Conquest, he said to its people: , .
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveys the clear message. If we know that he stayed in Mecca for four days before going out to Mina, and six days after that, and stayed in Tabuk for twenty days shortening the prayer, and stayed in Mecca in the Year of the Conquest for nineteen days shortening the prayer, these are different durations and the ruling did not change in them. At that point, we say: the consideration is the end of the travel. If a person intends to end his travel and settle permanently in this country, he becomes one of its people, and what is obligatory for a resident becomes obligatory for him. But if he says: "I am not from the people of this country, but I stayed for work," then we say: you are a traveler. However, we do not exempt this man who stayed in the country; we do not exempt him from congregational prayer. Rather, we oblige him to perform congregational prayer and Friday prayer, unless he misses it, in which case he prays two rak'ahs.
Likewise, we do not see that he should break his fast in Ramadan and make it up except after the second Ramadan. Not because he is not a traveler, but because if he leaves fasting in Ramadan this year, then in the next year, then in the third year, the days will accumulate for him, and he may become unable or lazy.
Then, the emphasis on breaking the fast while traveling is not like the emphasis on shortening the prayer. Shortening the prayer is obligatory for some scholars while traveling, and it has not been preserved that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer for a single day while he was a traveler.
As for breaking the fast, the Companions with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast and break their fasts, and the one who fasts would not blame the one who breaks his fast, nor the one who breaks his fast blame the one who fasts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted, and when it was said to him: "The people have found it difficult," he broke his fast.
For this reason, we say: the fast for this traveler who stayed for a long period is not delayed until the second Ramadan, but he fasts it so that the months do not accumulate for him and he becomes weak or negligent. Yes.
O Shaykh, we have heard a fatwa from your eminence that has circulated among students of knowledge, concerning the issue of shortening the prayer while traveling. Many students of knowledge say that the Shaykh stated: if students of knowledge arrive from countries outside the Kingdom, they shorten the prayer for the duration of their stay if they pray individually. We would like the evidence for this in detail. May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : This issue, may Allah bless you, is whether a traveler’s stay in a country breaks the ruling of travel or not.
The scholars differ on this issue with more than twenty opinions, as mentioned by al-Nawawi in *al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab*. This is because there is no definitive text in the issue that settles the disagreement between the differing parties. Therefore, Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) and a group of scholars held that the issue reduces to settling down or traveling, and that a person’s state is limited to either settling down or traveling. Settling down includes a permanent stay that is not defined by a specific job or time period. This is the opinion that the soul finds peace with, and it is what the apparent indications of the legal evidence point to, because there is not a single letter in the Qur'an or the Sunnah that indicates a specific duration that breaks the ruling of travel if a person intends it. If anyone has evidence for that, let them help us with it.
The greatest evidence for them—those who set a limit—is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for different durations. Some took the minimum, and some took the maximum. For example, Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said:
If a traveler intends to stay for nineteen days or more, he completes the prayer, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) stayed in Mecca for nineteen days shortening the prayer. So if we stay these nineteen days, we shorten, and if we exceed that, we complete.
إذا نوى المسافر تسعة عشر يوماً أو أكثر فإنه يتمّ، لأنّ النّبي صلّى الله عليه وآله وسلم أقام بمكة تسعة عشر يومًا يقصر الصّلاة، فإذا أقمنا هذه التسعة عشر يوماً قصرنا وإذا زدنا أتممناImam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him), al-Shafi'i, and I think Imam Malik, say: "If he intends to stay more than four days, he completes the prayer; if he intends four days or less, he shortens it". However, al-Shafi'i differed from Imam Ahmad:
Al-Shafi'i says: the day of arrival and the day of departure are not counted, so the days are four clear days. Based on this school of thought, how many days is that?
The questioner : Six.
The Shaykh : Six: the day of arrival, the day of departure, and four clear days in between. Imam Ahmad counts the day of arrival and the day of departure. What is the evidence for this?
The evidence is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), during the Farewell Pilgrimage, which was the last journey he made, arrived in Mecca on Sunday, the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah, and stayed there on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. On Thursday morning, he went out to Mina. It is authentically reported from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he shortened the prayer during this period. Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) went out, meaning to Mecca, for the Farewell Pilgrimage, and he did not cease praying two rak'ahs until he returned to Medina. He was asked: How long did they stay in Mecca? He said: We stayed there for ten days.
خرج النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم، يعني: إلى مكة في حجة الوداع، فلم يزل يصلي ركعتين حتى رجع إلى المدينة، فسُئل: كم أقاموا في مكّة؟ قال: أقمنا بها عشراًBut I ask you now: is this evidence for setting a limit or evidence for not setting a limit?
In reality, it is evidence for not setting a limit, not for setting a limit. Why?
Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Whoever stays more than four days, let him complete the prayer." Rather, the four days were coincidental. He (peace and blessings be upon him) knew that people arrive in Mecca for Hajj before the fourth day, meaning not all pilgrims arrive only on the fourth day or later. Absolutely not. Pilgrims arrive on the fourth, the third, the second, the first, at the end of Dhul-Qa'dah, and even from Shawwal:
Hajj is [during] well-known months
الْحَجُّ أَشْهُرٌ مَعْلُومَاتٌO people of Mecca, complete the prayer, for we are a people of travel.
يا أهل مكّة أتمّوا فإنا قوم سفرAnd he would pray two rak'ahs and say the closing salam, then the people of Mecca would stand and complete the prayer.
وكان يصلّي ركعتين ويسلّم، ثمّ يقوم أهل مكّة فيتمّونThe Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) conveys the clear message. If we know that he stayed in Mecca for four days before going out to Mina, and six days after that, and stayed in Tabuk for twenty days shortening the prayer, and stayed in Mecca in the Year of the Conquest for nineteen days shortening the prayer, these are different durations and the ruling did not change in them. At that point, we say: the consideration is the end of the travel. If a person intends to end his travel and settle permanently in this country, he becomes one of its people, and what is obligatory for a resident becomes obligatory for him. But if he says: "I am not from the people of this country, but I stayed for work," then we say: you are a traveler. However, we do not exempt this man who stayed in the country; we do not exempt him from congregational prayer. Rather, we oblige him to perform congregational prayer and Friday prayer, unless he misses it, in which case he prays two rak'ahs.
Likewise, we do not see that he should break his fast in Ramadan and make it up except after the second Ramadan. Not because he is not a traveler, but because if he leaves fasting in Ramadan this year, then in the next year, then in the third year, the days will accumulate for him, and he may become unable or lazy.
Then, the emphasis on breaking the fast while traveling is not like the emphasis on shortening the prayer. Shortening the prayer is obligatory for some scholars while traveling, and it has not been preserved that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) completed the prayer for a single day while he was a traveler.
As for breaking the fast, the Companions with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would fast and break their fasts, and the one who fasts would not blame the one who breaks his fast, nor the one who breaks his fast blame the one who fasts. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) fasted, and when it was said to him: "The people have found it difficult," he broke his fast.
For this reason, we say: the fast for this traveler who stayed for a long period is not delayed until the second Ramadan, but he fasts it so that the months do not accumulate for him and he becomes weak or negligent. Yes.