Section: The Traveler’s Prayer

Shortening the four-rakʿah prayer is preferable for one who has set out on a lawful journey1 to a specific destination that covers sixteen farsakhs—roughly two days of steady travel in moderate conditions at the pace of baggage-laden caravans or ordinary foot travelers—once he has passed the last inhabited houses of his village.

A traveler who has shortened his prayer and then returns home before traversing that distance is not required to repeat what he has prayed2.

He must perform the prayer in full if its time began while he was still in town, or if he prays behind an imam who is completing it, or if at the opening takbīr he did not intend to shorten it; equally so if he resolves to reside indefinitely or for more than four days, stays for a need3 while believing that the need will not be met until after four days, or delays the prayer without excuse until only a narrow window of time remains.

Conversely, he may continue shortening the prayer when he stays for a need without intending to remain beyond four4 days and does not know when that need will end, or if he is detained unjustly or by heavy rain—even if such circumstances keep him there for years.