What Is the Difference in Shortening the Prayer Between a Traveler Who Knows the Length of His Stay and One Who Does Not?
Question: What is the main difference regarding shortening the prayer between a traveler who knows how long he will stay in a city and a traveler who does not know how long he will stay there?
Summary:
The default for a traveler: shorten the four-rak‘ah prayers, combine when necessary (advance or delay), and wipe over his socks or footwear for three days and nights if worn in purity. The concession begins after leaving the built-up area, and the ruling of travel is not interrupted by an intention to stay temporarily; the traveler continues to be considered a traveler until returning home. Shortening: This is the established Sunnah and always preferable in travel. Completing the prayer is only prescribed when following a resident imam. The preferred ruling is that a traveler shortens as long as he is in the state of travel, even if the duration is long, unless he intends permanent residence. Combining: A concession for necessity or hardship, not an absolute Sunnah. The best practice is to shorten without combining unless needed, and combine only when necessary. Wiping: Permissible over leather socks or footwear for three days and nights for the traveler, provided they are worn in purity and wiping covers the majority of the foot’s surface.
And Allah knows best.
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