Does a traveler complete the prayer if he arrives in his town?
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Question:
The questioner says: We left the Prophet’s city for our town, which is 500 km from the Prophet’s city. While on the road, the time for Maghrib entered, so I asked some of those who knew the road—since it is a land route—how much was left to our town? He said: Half an hour. I said: We will delay Maghrib until we pray it in the town. We did not enter the town until the call for Isha was being raised in it. We prayed Maghrib, then we prayed Isha four rak'ahs; because we had arrived in our town. Is what we did valid? And what is obligatory upon us?
Knowing that I had prayed Isha two rak'ahs, considering that I was a traveler, since I was going to travel to Riyadh the next day, as I study at the university. So a shaykh I had asked said to me: Pray it four; because you are now in your town, so pray it four, as you mentioned at the beginning of the question. What is your opinion, Your Eminence?
Answer:
Yes, if a person is in his town, he prays four. If he comes to visit his family and then returns to study, he prays four in his town; because it is his homeland. But on the road, he shortens if it is like what he said, 500 km, or more than that, or less than that, if it is a journey of at least 80 km. If he is traveling, he combines them; he prays Maghrib three and Isha two, there is no harm. And if he arrives in the town at the time of Isha, he prays Isha with them as a voluntary prayer. And if he does not pray with them, there is no blame on him; because he has already performed it on the road. If they pray before he arrives in the town, combining them, there is no harm. So if he arrives in the town at the time of Isha, or if they pray Dhuhr and Asr at the time of Dhuhr, and then they arrive in the town at the time of Asr, Asr is not obligatory upon them; they have already prayed it. If they pray it with the people, it becomes a voluntary prayer.
The questioner says: We left the Prophet’s city for our town, which is 500 km from the Prophet’s city. While on the road, the time for Maghrib entered, so I asked some of those who knew the road—since it is a land route—how much was left to our town? He said: Half an hour. I said: We will delay Maghrib until we pray it in the town. We did not enter the town until the call for Isha was being raised in it. We prayed Maghrib, then we prayed Isha four rak'ahs; because we had arrived in our town. Is what we did valid? And what is obligatory upon us?
Knowing that I had prayed Isha two rak'ahs, considering that I was a traveler, since I was going to travel to Riyadh the next day, as I study at the university. So a shaykh I had asked said to me: Pray it four; because you are now in your town, so pray it four, as you mentioned at the beginning of the question. What is your opinion, Your Eminence?
Answer:
Yes, if a person is in his town, he prays four. If he comes to visit his family and then returns to study, he prays four in his town; because it is his homeland. But on the road, he shortens if it is like what he said, 500 km, or more than that, or less than that, if it is a journey of at least 80 km. If he is traveling, he combines them; he prays Maghrib three and Isha two, there is no harm. And if he arrives in the town at the time of Isha, he prays Isha with them as a voluntary prayer. And if he does not pray with them, there is no blame on him; because he has already performed it on the road. If they pray before he arrives in the town, combining them, there is no harm. So if he arrives in the town at the time of Isha, or if they pray Dhuhr and Asr at the time of Dhuhr, and then they arrive in the town at the time of Asr, Asr is not obligatory upon them; they have already prayed it. If they pray it with the people, it becomes a voluntary prayer.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.