Islamic Fiqh > Prayer > The traveller's prayer: shortening and combining > Intention, the end of travel and special cases
Contents
Updated on 24 September 2026 at 7:46 PM
This second part of the file devotes eight sheets to the rules of shortening (qasr) tied to the traveler's situation: the prayer whose time entered before departure, the intention of travel required at every prayer, the traveler praying behind a resident and the reverse, the cases that end the state of travel, the intention of residence, and entering one's homeland. The positions of the four schools, the hadiths and the classical references are reproduced faithfully, with their source citations (takhrij).
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) reported the consensus of all the scholars whose reports have reached us: the one who intends to travel may shorten the prayer as soon as he leaves the houses of the town he departs from.
The question addressed here: one upon whom the time of a prayer entered while he was a resident, able to perform it fully on the spot, and who then traveled: may he shorten it or not?
The four imams held that whoever travels after the time of the prayer has entered, while having been able to perform it complete in residence, may shorten it during travel.
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that Ibn al-Mundhir said: everyone whose reports we preserve from among the people of knowledge agrees that he may shorten it; this is the view of Malik, al-Awza'i, al-Shafi'i and the people of opinion (the Hanafis); for he traveled before its time expired, which is closer to the case of one who would have traveled before it became obligatory.
Among the Hanbalis, however, there is a narration according to which he may not shorten it.
Ibn Qudamah adds: when he travels after the time of the prayer has entered, Ibn 'Aqil reported two positions. The first: he may shorten it; then he cited the aforementioned view of Ibn al-Mundhir.
The second: he may not shorten it, for it became obligatory upon him in residence and complete performance is due from him, just as if he had traveled after its time expired, or had entered ihram for it and departed before the end of the time; for the prayer had not become obligatory upon him.
References: "al-Ijma'" (26), "al-Mughni" (2/482-483), "al-Tuhfah" (1/255), "Ma'ani al-Athar" (1/312), "al-Majmu'" (5/451), "al-Dhakhirah" (2/365-366), "al-Insaf" (2/320); for the second part: "al-Mughni" (2/522), "Ma'ani al-Athar" (1/316), "al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/360), "Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil" (2/58), "Manh al-Jalil" (1/404), "al-Majmu'" (5/480), "Kashshaf al-Qina'" (1/510).
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: if he travels during the time of the prayer, having been able to perform it, he may shorten it during travel according to us, according to Abu Hanifah, Malik and the majority of scholars ("al-Majmu'" (5/480)).
The fourth condition is that the intention of travel be required at every prayer. The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis, within the school, hold that whoever did not form the intention of shortening at the moment of ihram (entering the prayer) does not shorten but completes; for the intention of shortening is a condition of its validity at the moment of ihram, and complete performance is the default in their view: a general intention reverts to the default and does not depart from it except by specifying that which diverts it.
Thus, whoever intends the prayer in absolute terms, intending neither the rank of imam nor that of follower, ends up praying individually, for that is the default. Likewise, among the Shafi'is, whoever intends to perform, for example, Dhuhr as two rak'ahs without intending the concession of travel, or says: "I am performing the prayer of travel," as the officer (mutawalli) of the Shafi'is phrased it, performs the prayer complete if he has not formed the aforementioned intention, whether by intending completion or by leaving it general.
They also required guarding, during the prayer, against anything that contradicts the intention of shortening. If he intends completion after intending shortening, he completes; if he entered the prayer shortening and then hesitated between shortening and completing, he completes; if he doubts during the prayer whether he intended shortening at its beginning, complete performance is due from him as a precaution, even if he later remembers having intended it, for he performed part of his prayer in doubt oriented toward completion.
And if he intends completion or follows a resident, the prayer is invalid; if he wishes to repeat it, complete performance is due from him as well, for it became obligatory upon him complete, owing to his confusion behind the resident and the intention of completing ("al-Majmu'" (5/456), "Asna al-Matalib" (1/241), "al-Iqna'" (1/172), "Mughni al-Muhtaj" (1/267-268), "al-Mughni" (2/490)).
Among the Hanafis, the intention of shortening is not required, for the default with them is shortening. Abu Bakr, among the Hanbalis, opted for this as well: the intention is not required, for whoever is given the choice in an act of worship before entering it is given the choice after entering it, as with fasting; and because shortening is the default according to the report of Aishah, Umar and Ibn Abbas; so he needs no intention as completion needs one ("al-Mughni" (2/490)).
Among the Malikis, the intention of shortening at the first prayer shortened during travel suffices, with no need to renew it for subsequent prayers. It is also said: the intention of shortening is required at every prayer, if only by way of ruling ("al-Sharh al-Kabir" with "Hashiyat al-Dasuqi" (1/367)).
The Shafi'is also required knowledge of the lawfulness of shortening: whoever shortens in ignorance of it, his prayer is invalid, for he makes a game of it.
The Hanbalis add: if the traveler shortens believing shortening to be unlawful, his prayer is invalid; for he did what he believes forbidden and thus did not act under the license, like one who prays believing himself to be in a state of hadath (minor ritual impurity); and because the intention of drawing near to Allah through prayer is a condition, while he believes himself to be in a state of disobedience, so the intention of drawing near is not realized ("al-Mughni" (2/491)). References on the knowledge of lawfulness: "al-Majmu'" (5/456), "Mughni al-Muhtaj" (1/68).
Among the Hanafis, if the traveler chooses four rak'ahs, the whole does not count as an obligation: the obligatory is two rak'ahs and the second half counts as voluntary; to the point that if he does not sit, at the end of the two rak'ahs, for the duration of the tashahhud, his prayer is invalid, for that sitting is, in his case, the final sitting. If he completes out of forgetfulness, his prayer is valid and the prostration of forgetfulness is due from him; if he deliberately sits at the end of the two rak'ahs (and then continues), his prayer is valid but he did wrong by delaying the salam from its place ("Ma'ani al-Athar" (1/310), "al-Ifsah" (1/217)).
Among the Malikis, if the traveler forms, during a prayer he began as a traveler, the intention of a residence that ends the ruling of travel, he adds one rak'ah as a recommended complement if he performed one rak'ah, and counts it as supererogatory: the prayer does not count as a resident's prayer if he completes four rak'ahs, for he did not enter it on that basis, nor as a traveler's prayer, for he changed his intention during it ("al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/364-365)).
When the traveler joins a four-rak'ah prayer behind a resident imam, three cases arise.
First case: he catches three or four rak'ahs with the imam. He must then follow him and perform the prayer as four behind his imam; this is the view of the four imams, for what calls for shortening and what calls for completion are combined and completion prevails, like one who began the prayer in travel and then became a resident, and by the generality of the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"The imam has only been appointed to be followed: do not differ from him..."Authentic hadith (cited earlier)
Next comes the hadith of Musa ibn Salamah al-Hudhali: I asked Ibn Abbas: how should I pray in Mecca if I do not pray with the imam? He answered:
"Two rak'ahs: the sunnah of Abu al-Qasim (peace be upon him)."Reported by Muslim (no. 688)
In another wording: "When we were with you we prayed four rak'ahs; when we returned to our baggage we prayed two. And he said: that is the sunnah of Abu al-Qasim (peace be upon him)." (Authentic hadith: Ahmad (1/216), Ibn Khuzaymah (no. 952), al-Bayhaqi (3/153).) As for Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), he used to pray four rak'ahs when he prayed with the imam, and two when he prayed alone (reported by Muslim (no. 694)).
Second case: he catches one or two rak'ahs with the imam. Complete performance is due from him as well, as in the previous case; this is agreed upon by the four schools, on the evidence already cited and on the hadith of Abu Mijlaz: I said to Ibn Umar: the traveler catches two rak'ahs of the people's prayer (meaning the residents): are the two rak'ahs sufficient for him, and does he pray along with their prayer? He laughed and said:
"Let him pray along with their prayer."Authentic hadith: reported by al-Bayhaqi (3/157)
Third case (of the traveler behind a resident): he catches less than one rak'ah with the imam. The majority of scholars (Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis) require complete performance.
Imam Malik, for his part, grants him the right to shorten and does not require completion, by the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"Whoever catches a rak'ah of the prayer has caught the prayer."Authentic hadith (cited earlier)
And because whoever catches a rak'ah of Jumu'ah completes it as Jumu'ah, while whoever catches less than that is not discharged of its obligation and prays four rak'ahs (references: "Tuhfat al-Fuqaha" (1/152), "al-Furuq" of al-Karabisi (1/52-53), "al-Ikhtiyar" (1/86), "al-Durr al-Mukhtar" (2/130), "Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil" (2/36), "al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/365), "al-Sharh al-Saghir" (1/317), "Manh al-Jalil" (1/411), "al-Majmu'" (5/462), "al-Mughni" (2/522-524)).
Among the Malikis: if a traveler joins people he takes to be travelers, intends to shorten and enters the prayer with them, and it then becomes clear that the opposite is true, namely that they are residents, or nothing becomes clear, he repeats the prayer in all cases; for he contradicted his imam in intention and deed: if he salutes at two rak'ahs, he contradicted him in intention and deed; if he completes, he contradicted him in intention and acted contrary to what he entered the prayer upon, like one who intends to shorten and then deliberately completes.
If nothing becomes clear, in that the people do not leave when the imam salutes at two rak'ahs, without it being known whether it was their prayer or a completed makeup prayer: the cause of invalidity lies in the possibility of contradiction. It may be that the group agreed with him on being travelers, and the prayer is then valid; and it may be that they are residents: he then contradicted the imam in intention and deed if he saluted at two; or, if he completed, he contradicted the imam in intention and his intention contradicted his deed; doubt about validity arose, and that entails invalidity ("Hashiyat al-Dasuqi" with "al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/366-367), "al-Sharh al-Saghir" (1/318)).
The Shafi'is and the Hanbalis say: if the traveler enters the prayer behind a man he deems most likely a resident, or about whom he doubts whether he is a resident or a traveler, complete performance is due from him even if his imam shortens; for the default is that the prayer is obligatory complete: he may therefore not form the intention of shortening while in doubt about the obligation of completing it, and completion is due from him with respect to the intention.
But if he deems it most likely that the imam is a traveler, because of the garb of travelers and the marks of travel visible upon him, he may intend to shorten: if his imam shortens, he shortens with him; if he completes, he must follow him; and if he intends completion, completion is due from him, whether his imam shortens or completes, with respect to the intention ("al-Majmu'" (5/460-461), "al-Mughni" (2/524-525)).
When a resident follows a traveler in a four-rak'ah prayer, he must perform his prayer as four after the imam's salam, by consensus of the scholars ("al-Ijma'" of Ibn al-Mundhir (27) and the previous references). It is recommended for the imam, after his salam, to say to them: "Complete your prayer, for we are a people of travel," according to what Malik and others reported from Ibn Umar: when Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) arrived in Mecca, he would pray two rak'ahs with them and then say:
"Complete your prayer, O people of Mecca, for we are a people of travel."Authentic chain: reported by Malik in "al-Muwatta" (no. 195), Ibn Abi Shaybah (1/419) and Abd al-Razzaq (no. 4369)
Imam Ibn Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: this hadith of Umar shows that the traveler may lead residents in prayer; this is the recommended position of a group of scholars, and I know of no disagreement among them over the fact that when the traveler prays two rak'ahs with residents and salutes, they rise and complete four rak'ahs for themselves, individually ("al-Istidhkar" (2/249)).
Imam al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: when the imam salutes at the end of two rak'ahs, the resident does not salute, for half of the prayer still remains upon him: were he to salute, his prayer would be invalid; he rises and performs it as four, by the saying: "Complete, O people of Mecca, for we are a people of travel" ("Bada'i' al-Sana'i'" (1/101)).
Imam al-Mawardi (may Allah have mercy on him) reported that al-Shafi'i said: "If a traveler prays with residents and travelers, he prays two rak'ahs with the travelers, salutes with them, and the residents are commanded to complete four; every traveler may complete, for the concession was granted him only to shorten if he wishes: if he completes, completion is his due; and Uthman ibn Affan used to complete."
Al-Mawardi explained: this applies when travelers and residents gather to pray in congregation. If among them is the imam of the time or the ruler of the land, he has the greater right to lead, whether resident or traveler. If there is neither imam nor ruler and all are equal in fiqh and recitation, the leadership of the resident is preferable, for two reasons: he completes the prayer and completion is better; and those behind him are on equal footing, so that they finish at the same time.
For these two reasons the resident's leadership is preferable; if they put a traveler forward, it is permitted, although the resident is preferable. Is his leadership, when he is a traveler, disliked or not? Two views: the first, stated in "al-Umm", deems it disliked for them, for he leaves the prayer before them; the second, stated in "al-Imla'", does not deem it disliked, for the traveler differs from the resident in the lawfulness of the concession, and the lawfulness of a concession is not a deficiency in him.
Thus, if he leads them, he prays, and the travelers behind him pray two rak'ahs if they wish to shorten, while the residents behind him must complete the prayer as four and may not shorten it, for their obligation is completion. It is reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed with a people and then said: "Complete, O people of Mecca"; and from Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): he prayed with a people and, when he finished, said: "Complete, O residents, for we are a people of travel"; and a similar report comes from Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him).
When the imam salutes, al-Shafi'i held that he should command the residents to complete the prayer as four; it would be better to command them so before they enter the prayer, for some, out of ignorance, might salute with his salam. If he commands them nothing, there is no harm. If the residents wish to complete their prayer as four after the imam has finished, the latter appoints one of them to lead them in the completion, or they put one of them forward; the appointment of a substitute is permitted according to his view in "al-Jadid".
As for the continuation of the concession, al-Athram reported: I heard Abu Abdillah (Ahmad) being asked about the sailor: does he shorten and break his fast on the ship? He replied: if the ship is his home, he completes and he fasts. It was said to him: how could it be his home? He said: he has no dwelling other than it; his family is with him on board and he is settled there as a resident.
Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the camel-driver and the hirer of mounts are entitled to the concession even if they travel with their families. Abu Dawud reported: I heard Ahmad say, about the hirer whose whole time is spent traveling: he must arrive and stay one day. It was said: stay one day, two or three, to prepare for travel? He said: that one shortens. Al-Qadi and Abu al-Khattab mentioned that he has no shortening like the sailor; this statement is not correct.
For he is a traveler in hardship, so shortening is his right like that of others, and he cannot be assimilated to the sailor: the latter is in his dwelling, traveling or resident, with his interests, his oven and his family, which does not exist in the other's case; if this one travels with his family, it is harder upon him and more deserving of the concession. We have reported Ahmad's explicit statement on the difference between the two, and the texts on this subject are general in their wording; he does not fall under the meaning of that specified case, so the ruling of the text is established in his favor, and Allah knows best ("al-Mughni" (2/488), "Ibn Abidin" (2/126), "Bulghat al-Salik" (1/314), "al-Ifsah" (1/221), "al-Mubdi'" (2/116)).
The traveler whose travel is valid remains under the ruling of travel. This ruling changes only if he forms the intention of residence or enters his homeland: the state of travel then ends, he becomes a resident and the rulings of the resident apply to him.
Residence has conditions. The first is the intention of residence. The Hanafis state explicitly that this intention is indispensable. Al-Kasani said: even if he enters Egypt and stays there a month or more, waiting for a caravan or for another need, saying: "I leave today or tomorrow," without forming the intention of residence, he does not become a resident; this by the consensus of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them).
It is indeed reported from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he stayed in a village of the district of Nishapur two months, shortening the prayer (reported by al-Bayhaqi in "al-Ma'rifa", as cited in "Nasb al-Rayah" (2/185) and the "al-Dirayah" of al-Hafiz (1/212), from al-Miswar ibn Makhramah: "we were with Sa'd in a village of the district of Syria for forty nights: we prayed four and he prayed two"). His shortening for two months is, moreover, established by the hadith of Anas, reported by Abd al-Razzaq in his "al-Musannaf" (2/536) and al-Bayhaqi in "al-Sunan al-Kubra" (3/152), from Hafsah bint Ubaydullah ibn Anas: Anas stayed in Syria with Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan two months, praying two rak'ahs. Al-Nawawi said: its chain contains Abd al-Wahhab ibn Ata, whose reliability is disputed, but the majority declared him reliable and Muslim relied on him in his "Sahih"; quoted by al-Zayla'i in "Nasb al-Rayah" (2/185) from al-Nawawi, who endorsed it.
From Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him): "he stayed in Azerbaijan a month, praying two rak'ahs"; but this report was not found in this form: al-Bayhaqi reported it in "al-Sunan al-Kubra" (3/152) from Nafi': "snow was sent upon us in Azerbaijan for six months, on a campaign, and we prayed two rak'ahs." Al-Hafiz said in the "al-Dirayah" (1/212): al-Bayhaqi reported it with an authentic chain; and al-Nawawi said: its chain meets the criterion of the two "Sahih" collections.
From Alqamah: "he stayed in Khwarizm two years, shortening" (reported by Abd al-Razzaq (2/536) and Ibn Abi Shaybah (2/208)).
From Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him): "I witnessed with the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) the year of the conquest of Mecca: he stayed there eighteen nights praying only two rak'ahs, then said to the people of Mecca":
"Pray four rak'ahs, for we are a people of travel."Weak hadith (cited earlier)
And analogical reasoning that runs against the explicit text and the consensus is void.
As for the duration of residence taken into account, the minimum is fifteen days, according to what Ibn Abbas and Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them) reported:
"If you enter a town as a traveler, resolved to stay there fifteen days, complete the prayer; and if you do not know when you will strike camp, shorten."Mentioned by al-Zayla'i in "Nasb al-Rayah" (2/183), who states that al-Tahawi reported it
This matter is not within the reach of ijtihad, for it is among the fixed measures; the two men cannot be presumed to have spoken loosely: the apparent conclusion is that they heard it from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) ("Bada'i' al-Sana'i'" (1/323-324), "al-Ikhtiyar" (1/85)).
Among the Malikis, the intention is required as well. The minimum duration of residence with them is four full days, with the obligation of twenty prayers during the period of residence. Whoever enters, for example, before dawn on Saturday, resolved to stay until sunset on Tuesday and to leave before Isha: the ruling of travel is not interrupted, for, the four days being full, twenty prayers are not due upon him.
Whoever enters before Asr without having prayed Dhuhr, and forms the intention of departing after the dawn of the fifth day: the ruling of travel is not interrupted either, for, although twenty prayers are due upon him, he has with him only three full days: both conditions are therefore necessary. And Sahnun counted only the twenty prayers.
The intention of residence may be formed at the outset of the journey or during it. If it is formed at the outset and the distance between the intention and the place of residence is a shortening distance, he shortens until he actually enters the place of residence; otherwise he completes from the moment of the intention. If the intention is formed during the journey, he shortens until he actually enters the place of residence, even if the distance between the two is less than the shortening distance according to the relied-upon view.
Excluded from the intention of residence is the intention of encamping in a place of fear: it does not interrupt the ruling of travel. And if the traveler stays in a place during his journey without forming the intention of residing there, that stay does not prevent shortening, however long it may be; however, if he knows that he will stay four days in a place as a matter of course, that interrupts the ruling of travel even without the intention of residence: knowledge of residence has the status of intention, unlike doubt, which does not interrupt the ruling of travel ("al-Sharh al-Kabir" with "Hashiyat al-Dasuqi" (1/364), "al-Sharh al-Saghir" with "Bulghat al-Salik" (1/316-317), "Hashiyat al-Adawi" (1/461), "Sharh Mukhtasar Khalil" (2/62-63)).
Among the Shafi'is, al-Shirbini said: if the independent traveler, even a combatant (muharib), intends a residence of four full days with their nights, or intends residence in a specified place fit for residence, and likewise in a place unfit for it, such as a desert on the soundest view, his travel is interrupted upon his arrival at that place, whether it is his destination or he is passing through it. And if he forms the intention, upon reaching a place, of residing there four days, his travel is interrupted by the intention together with his stay, if he is independent.
If he stays four days without intention, his travel is interrupted at their completion; for Allah permitted shortening on condition of journeying through the land, and the resident, like the one resolved upon residence, is not journeying through the land. The Sunnah has shown that anything short of four does not interrupt travel, in the two "Sahih" collections:
"The migrant stays three [days] after completing his rites."Reported by Bukhari (no. 3718) and Muslim (no. 1352)
Residence in Mecca and dwelling among the disbelievers were forbidden to the migrants: the concession of three days therefore proves that the ruling of travel persists, unlike four. Umar forbade the people of the covenant (dhimmis) to reside in the Hijaz, then permitted the trader among them to stay three days; Malik reported it with an authentic chain. Within the meaning of the three days lies what exceeds them and what falls short of four; and residence of four days is joined to the intention of residing them.
But if he forms the intention of residence while still on the road, it has no effect, for the cause of shortening is travel, which exists in reality. Of the four days, the day of entry and the day of departure are not counted if he enters by day, according to the sounder view: the first contains unloading and the last departure, both being preoccupations of travel.
These two days are counted as the duration of wiping over the khuff is counted: the day of the hadath and the day of removal. The difference with the first case is that the traveler does not fill the day with travel: he only journeys through part of it; and on the days of entry and departure he travels part of the day, unlike residence, which fills the whole duration.
According to the view that they are counted, they are counted only by combination, not as two full days: if he enters at sunset on Saturday to leave at sunset on Wednesday, he completes; before that, he shortens. If he enters by night, the rest of the night is not counted and the next day is counted: his stay in that case is less than if he had entered by day.
If he stays in a town with the intention of leaving as soon as a need he expects at any moment materializes, or if the wind detains him in a place at sea, he shortens eighteen days besides the days of entry and departure: for the Prophet (peace be upon him) did the same in Mecca, the year of the conquest, for the war against Hawazin, shortening the prayer (weak hadith, cited earlier, reported by Abu Dawud). It is said: he shortens four days besides the days of entry and departure; for when the concession is prevented, intending to reside is more fitting, the deed being more eloquent than the intention.
It is also said: he shortens at all times, that is, according to need; for the apparent implication is that if his need exceeded eighteen days he would shorten in the excess as well. And if the traveler knows that his need will last a long time, namely the said four days and beyond, like one who knows that his work cannot be completed except in five days, he has no shortening according to the school: for he is a settled, secure dweller, far from the outward condition of travelers ("Mughni al-Muhtaj" (1/264-266), "al-Majmu'" (5/465-471), "Rawdat al-Talibin" (1/380-383)).
Among the Hanbalis: if the traveler intends a residence longer than twenty prayers, he completes, by the hadith of Jabir and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them):
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) arrived in Mecca on the morning of the fourth of Dhu al-Hijjah: he stayed there the fourth, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh, and prayed the dawn prayer on the second day, then left for Mina; and he shortened the prayer during those days, although he had resolved to stay."Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (no. 1235), Ahmad (3/295) and Ibn Hibban in his "Sahih" (3/456)
If the traveler forms an unrestricted intention of residence, in that he does not define it by a fixed time in a town, he completes, for the travel that permits shortening ends with the intention of residence. If he doubts his intention, wondering whether he intended a residence that prevents shortening or not, he completes: it is the default, from which he does not depart in case of doubt; even if he did not intend a residence longer than twenty prayers, intending twenty or less, he shortens, according to the foregoing. The day of entry and the day of departure are counted within the duration: if he enters at midday, he counts the remainder of the day; if he leaves at Asr, he counts the part of the day already elapsed.
If he stays for a need whose fulfillment he hopes for, or for jihad against an enemy, whether he deems it likely that his need will be fulfilled within a short or a long period, after it remains possible that the need ends within a period that does not interrupt the ruling of travel (without an intention of residence that interrupts it), namely a residence of more than twenty prayers, with the fulfillment of the need before that period not being known, even if the knowledge is a presumption applied like certainty where certainty is impossible or difficult: if he is detained unjustly, or detained by rain, illness or the like, he shortens at all times; for the Prophet (peace be upon him):
"stayed at Tabuk twenty days, shortening the prayer."Authentic hadith: reported by Abu Dawud (no. 1235), Ahmad (3/295) and Ibn Hibban (3/456)
When the Prophet (peace be upon him) conquered Mecca, he stayed there nineteen [days], praying two rak'ahs:
"The Prophet (peace be upon him) conquered Mecca and stayed there nineteen [days], praying two rak'ahs."Reported by Bukhari (no. 1030)
And Anas said:
"The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) stayed at Ramhurmoz nine months, shortening the prayer."Reported by al-Bayhaqi (3/152); al-Nawawi: its chain is authentic, cited in "al-Majmu'" (5/467); al-Albani graded it weak in "al-Irwa'" (no. 576)
Ibn al-Mundhir (may Allah have mercy on him) said: they agreed that the traveler shortens as long as he has not resolved upon residence, even if years pass (see "al-Mughni" (2/538)). And Imam al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the people of knowledge agreed that the traveler shortens as long as he has not resolved upon residence, even if years pass ("Sunan al-Tirmidhi" (2/433)).
If he stays for a need and knows, or presumes, that it will not be fulfilled within four days, complete performance is due from him, as if he had intended a residence of more than four days.
If he forms a conditional intention of residence, saying for example: "if I meet so-and-so in this town I will stay, otherwise not": if he does not meet him, the ruling of travel remains his, the condition suspending residence not having been fulfilled. If he meets him in the town, he becomes a resident, through the continuation (istishab) of the ruling of the intention of residence, unless he annulled his first intention of residence before the meeting or at the moment of it: if he annuls it then, shortening remains his; if he annuls the intention after the meeting, he is like a traveler who intended a residence preventing shortening and then resolved to travel before its completion: he is therefore not permitted to shorten at his place of residence.
Al-Kasani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: the correct view is that of Abu Hanifah, for the place of residence is the place of settling, and the desert is not, in principle, a place of settling: the intention is therefore futile ("Bada'i' al-Sana'i'" (1/326)).
The Malikis, the Shafi'is according to the soundest view in their school, and the Hanbalis according to one view, do not require that the place be fit for residence: if the traveler forms the intention of residing in a place, even an unfit one, his intention is valid and shortening is prevented. But the Shafi'is against the soundest view, the Hanbalis according to the other view, and Abu Hanifah, as stated above, hold that the place must be fit for residence ("al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/360), "al-Majmu'" (5/469), "Mughni al-Muhtaj" (2/264), "al-Sharh al-Kabir" of al-Rafi'i (5/445), "Nihayat al-Muhtaj" (2/253), "al-Insaf" (2/330)).
Entering the homeland: when the traveler enters his homeland, he becomes a resident, the ruling of travel leaves him and his obligation changes accordingly. Whether he enters his home to reside, to pass through, or for a need and then leaves: it is all the same, for the Prophet (peace be upon him) would set out as a traveler for the expeditions and then return to Medina without renewing the intention of residence, his homeland being fixed for residence: there is no need to fix it by intention.
Entering the homeland that ends the ruling of travel consists in returning to the place from which the shortening began. If he draws near to his town and the time of prayer arrives, he is a traveler as long as he has not entered it, according to what is reported from Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): when he arrived in Kufa coming from Basra, he prayed the traveler's prayer while looking at the dwellings of Kufa (reported by al-Bayhaqi (3/146) and Abd al-Razzaq in his "al-Musannaf" (2/530); al-Hafiz said in "Taghliq al-Ta'liq" (2/421): its chain is authentic).
From Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said to the traveler: "Pray two rak'ahs as long as you have not entered your dwelling"; and if he enters his homeland within the time of the prayer, complete performance is due from him (references: "Bada'i' al-Sana'i'" (1/337), "al-Mabsut" of al-Sarakhsi (1/238), "Umdat al-Qari" (7/117), "al-Bahr al-Ra'iq" (2/142), "al-Sharh al-Kabir" (1/268), "al-Sharh al-Saghir" (1/315), "al-Majmu'" (5/453), "Fath al-Bari" (2/570)).