The Duration and Distance of Shortening the Prayer

This is a message from Ghazai Muhammad al-Shalwi from Riyadh. He asks: When does a Muslim shorten his prayer? And what is the duration in which shortening is permissible?
Answer: If a believer travels a journey of shortening, meaning a journey that is considered a journey of shortening; shortening is prescribed for him; because Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Surat al-Nisa: 101], , meaning he prayed two rak'ahs for the midday, afternoon, and night prayers. This is where shortening applies. As for the dawn prayer, there is no shortening in it, and there is no shortening in the sunset prayer. Shortening is only in the midday, afternoon, and night prayers, which are the four-rak'ah prayers. If he travels a distance that is not considered a journey, such as seventy kilometers... eighty kilometers... more than that, and in the early period, this was two stages for camels, meaning two days of intended travel. When camels were replaced by cars, seventy kilometers... eighty kilometers or approximately that distance became a stage considered a journey. This is the most cautious approach for the believer. If he is at this distance, he shortens. If it is less than that, such as fifty or forty kilometers, the most cautious approach is not to shorten; because it resembles the suburbs of the town and is close to the town given the speed of cars. Some scholars have held that a journey is anything considered a journey. If one needs provisions and water, this is considered a journey even if it does not reach seventy kilometers or a day and night, if he needs provisions and water—meaning water. It is not considered a journey unless it is the kind in which one shortens, which is the kind that requires provisions, meaning food, and water, meaning water—such as fifty kilometers, forty kilometers, or similar, whether by mount or on foot.
As for the car, its situation is different from that of walking on foot, and different from that of a mount, as is known due to speed. Therefore, if caution is exercised and the journey is set at approximately seventy or eighty kilometers, this is closer and more cautious. It aligns with what scholars previously established regarding the two days of intended travel. If he goes to approximately this distance, he shortens: he prays the midday prayer as two rak'ahs, the afternoon prayer as two rak'ahs, and the night prayer as two rak'ahs. If it is less than that, it resembles the suburbs of the lands, so the most cautious approach for him is to complete the four rak'ahs. Yes.
The presenter: He also asks: What is the duration in which shortening is permissible? And I believe he means the duration a person stays in during his journey?
The Shaykh: Yes. The duration a person stays in during his journey is divided into two categories:
A duration he specifies, and a duration he does not specify. As for the duration he does not specify, this is when he has a need in the town and does not know when it will end, such as seeking a person, looking for someone in hopes of finding him, such as a right he has over a person and he is demanding it from him, such as a dispute he wants to resolve, or similar matters. It has no known duration; rather, his task is to complete this need, even if it takes one day or two days. He shortens for the duration of his stay; because he has no limited time. So he continues to shorten until it ends. As for the second situation, it is the case of a person who has resolved to stay for a known number of days that he has specified, such as staying ten days, twenty days, four days, or five days. Scholars have differed on this:
Some said it is limited to three days, some limited it to four days, some limited it to fifteen days, and it was said to be twenty days. The most cautious approach here is four days. If he intends to stay more than four days, he completes the prayer. The evidence for this is the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) stay during the Farewell Pilgrimage, for he stayed four days; because he arrived in Mecca on the morning of the fourth day, and stayed on the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh days, then proceeded to Mina and 'Arafah on the eighth day. The scholars said: These are four days he intended to stay, so he shortens the prayer in them, just as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) shortened. If he intends to stay more than that, he completes; because the original ruling is completion. The original ruling is that it is obligatory to complete the prayer. Shortening was prescribed for travel. So this stay is not travel; it is a stay in which one completes. Unlike four days or less, which is in the ruling of travel, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did in the Farewell Pilgrimage. And perhaps this is the most cautious, if Allah wills, and the closest. Yes.