The maximum duration for shortening prayer while traveling

Q: Is it correct that a traveler shortens his prayer no matter how long the journey lasts, even if it reaches years? Or is there a specific time limit after which shortening ends? What is the ruling on a person who travels for study or work outside his city? Is it correct that he shortens his prayer until he returns from his studies or work?

A: It is the Sunnah for a traveler to shorten his prayer while traveling, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and acting in accordance with his Sunnah, provided the distance is approximately eighty kilometers or more. If he travels, for example, from Saudi Arabia to America, he shortens as long as he is on the road. Or if he travels from Makkah to Egypt, or from Egypt to Makkah, he shortens as long as he is on the road. Likewise, if he stops in a town, he shortens as long as he remains in the town, provided the stay is four days or less. He shortens just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did when he stopped in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage. He arrived in Makkah on the morning of the fourth of Dhul-Hijjah and continued to shorten his prayer until he went out to Mina on the eighth of Dhul-Hijjah. Similarly, if he intends to stay for a period whose end he does not know—whether it is four days or more—he shortens until his need is fulfilled. Or if he intends to stay for a period exceeding four days, according to the majority of scholars, such as staying to seek a person who owes him a debt or with whom he has a dispute whose end he does not know, or something similar, he shortens as long as he is residing there. This is because his stay is not limited; he does not know when the stay will end. Therefore, he has the right to shorten and is considered a traveler. He shortens and breaks his fast in Ramadan, even if this continues for years.
As for one who stays for a long period for study, or for other affairs, or intends to stay for a long time, it is obligatory for him to complete the prayer. This is the correct view, and it is the position of the majority of scholars, including the four Imams and others. This is because the original ruling for a resident is to complete the prayer. Therefore, if he intends to stay for more than four days, he must complete the prayer, whether for study or otherwise.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) held the view that if a traveler stays for nineteen days or less, he shortens, and if he intends to stay for more than that, he must complete the prayer. He cited as evidence the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) stay of nineteen days during the Conquest of Makkah, during which he shortened the prayer. However, the relied-upon view in all of this is that the stay that does not prevent shortening the prayer is four days or less. This is the position of the majority, and it is a precaution for the religion and a distance from danger in this great act of worship, which is the pillar of Islam.
The answer to the evidence cited by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) is that it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he intended to stay for this duration. Rather, he stayed to establish the foundations of Islam in Makkah and to remove the effects of shirk (associating partners with Allah), without intending a specific duration. A traveler who does not intend a specific duration has the right to shorten, even if the duration is long, as mentioned earlier.
My advice to my brothers who travel for study or other purposes is to complete the prayer and not shorten it, and to fast in Ramadan and not break the fast, except if the stay is short, four days or less, or if the stay is not fixed and he does not know when it will end because he has a need he is pursuing and does not know when it will end, as mentioned earlier. In this case, he is in the ruling of a traveler. This is the best that has been said on this matter, and it is the position of the majority of scholars. It is what should be followed because of the precaution it takes for the religion, based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
His (peace and blessings be upon him) stay of nineteen days in Makkah on the day of the Conquest is understood to mean that he did not intend it as a fixed period. Rather, he stayed to rectify religious affairs, establish the oneness of Allah in Makkah, and direct the Muslims to what is obligatory upon them, as mentioned earlier. Therefore, it does not imply that he intended this specific stay. Rather, it is possible that he stayed without intending a specific duration, and the days passed as he looked into the affairs of the Muslims, rectified what needed rectification, and established the rituals of religion in the Noble Makkah. There is nothing indicating that he intended this stay, such that it could be used as evidence that the duration of stay permitting shortening is limited to nineteen days, as reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father).
Similarly, his (peace and blessings be upon him) stay of twenty days in Tabuk, there is nothing indicating that he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended it as a fixed period. Rather, it appears that he stayed to investigate matters related to war and consider the situation, without a firm decision on the duration of the stay. This is because the original ruling is that there is no firm decision on staying unless there is evidence. He was a traveler for jihad and war against the Romans, and he delayed in Tabuk for this period to consider the matter of jihad: whether to continue traveling and advance toward the Romans or to return. Then Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, chose for him to return to Madinah, so he returned.
The point is that there is nothing indicating that he intended to stay for nineteen days in Makkah, or that he intended a firm stay of twenty days in Tabuk, such that it could be said that this is the minimum duration for shortening, or that this is the maximum duration for staying. Rather, that is a possibility, as stated by the majority. Limiting the stay to four days or less, and completing the prayer if one intends to stay longer, is derived from his (peace and blessings be upon him) stay in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage before the Hajj. He stayed for four days, without doubt, intending to stay there for the sake of Hajj, from the fourth day until he went out to Mina. A group of scholars limited the stay to ten days because he (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed for ten days in Makkah during the Farewell Pilgrimage, including his stay in Mina and 'Arafah. They said that this was a stay he intended, so the duration in which shortening is permissible is ten days or less, because he intended it. This is a view that has strength and validity. However, the majority considered his departure from Makkah to Mina as the beginning of the journey, because he went to Mina to perform the rituals of Hajj and then travel to Madinah.
In any case, this is a matter of scholarly disagreement, with several opinions among the scholars. However, the best and most cautious opinion on this matter is what was mentioned earlier from the majority: that if a traveler intends to stay in a town or any place for more than four days, he completes the prayer; if he intends to stay for less, he shortens. And if he has no fixed intention, saying "I will travel tomorrow" or "I will travel the day after tomorrow," meaning he has a need he is pursuing and does not know when it will end, then he is in the ruling of a traveler, even if the duration is long. And Allah is the guarantor of success.