Ruling on shortening and combining prayers for one who travels less than eighty kilometers

Question:
This is another questioner from Yemen, Samir Yahya, who says in this question: I work in the city of Sana'a, and sometimes I visit my relatives in a city that is about forty-five to fifty kilometers away, and I intend to return on the same day. So, should I combine the midday prayer with the afternoon prayer and shorten the four-rak'ah prayers? And should the combination be by bringing it forward or delaying it? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The correct view in this matter is that he is not a traveler. If he leaves Sana'a for a town that is less than eighty kilometers away, he is not a traveler; because travel was defined as a day and a night on a mount, as it was with the righteous predecessors. Then cars came into use. So, if the distance is eighty kilometers or approximately that, it is considered travel. If it is less than that, he considers himself not a traveler. If he goes to villages that are fifty, forty, sixty, or similar distances from Sana'a or elsewhere, this is not travel. This is the stronger opinion according to the majority.