Dear Mufti Sahib,
If a person is travelling for 15 days to a small country but is not staying in one place for the 15 days.
He is travelling from place to place every 3 days.
Basically all the places are not far. Some are 10 kms away and some are 18kms away.
So towns are very nearby but are different towns. Everything is within 20kms radius. But 2 places are not part of the same city. They are neighbouring cities
In this scenario should he pray full or Qasr?
C/o Molana Nabeel , Lilongwe
بسم اللہ الرحمن الرحیم
الجواب
If a person travels to a country for 15 nights with the intention of changing his stay after every few days in different cities, then according to the Hanafi school he remains a traveler (musāfir) and has to perform Qaṣr (shortened) prayers throughout the trip.
Allama Kasani 587 AH has categorically explained this ruling in his masterpiece work:
(وأما اتحاد المكان): فالشرط نية مدة الإقامة في مكان واحد؛ لأن الإقامة قرار والانتقال يضاده، ولا بد من الانتقال في مكانين. وإذا عرف هذا فنقول: إذا نوى المسافر الإقامة خمسة عشر يوماً في موضعين، فإن كانا مصراً واحداً أو قريةً واحدةً صار مقيماً... وإن كانا مصرين نحو مكة ومنى أو الكوفة والحيرة، أو قريتين، أو أحدهما مصر والآخر قرية، لا يصير مقيماً؛ لأنهما مكانان متباينان حقيقةً وحكماً.
"As for the unity of place, it is a condition that the intended period of residence be in one place, because residence implies staying settled, whereas moving from one place to another contradicts that. Therefore, if a traveler intends to stay for fifteen days in two places, then if both places are within the same city or the same village, he becomes a resident. However, if they are two separate cities—such as Makkah and Minā, or Kūfah and Ḥīrah—or two separate villages, or one city and one village, he does not become a resident, because they are two distinct places in both reality and legal ruling."
Alahazrat Imam Ahmed Raza Khan 1340 AH has stated with an example and reference:
"الٰہ آباد میں پورے پندرہ روز ٹھہرنے کی نیت کی اور ساتھ ہی یہ معلوم تھا کہ ان میں ایک شب دوسری جگہ ٹھہرنا ہوگا، تو یہ پورے پندرہ دن کی نیت نہ ہوئی اور سفر ہی رہا ۔’’فی الدر المختار لو دخل الحاج مکۃ ایام العشر لم تصح نیتہ لانہ یخرج الٰی منٰی وعرفۃ ‘‘درمختار میں ہے کہ اگر کوئی حاجی مکہ میں ذوالحج کے عشرہ میں داخل ہوا تو اس کی نیت درست نہیں، کیونکہ اس نے منٰی اورعرفات کی طرف جانا ہے
“In Allahabad, a person intended to stay for a full fifteen days, but at the same time it was known that during those days he would have to spend one night in another place. In such a case, the intention of a full fifteen-day stay is not valid, and he remains a traveler.”
“In al-Durr al-Mukhtār it is stated: If a pilgrim enters Makkah during the days of the ten (of Dhu al-Hijjah), his intention of residence is not valid, because he will have to go out to Minā and ‘Arafāt.”
(فتاویٰ رضویہ، جلد 08،صفحہ252،251،ملتقطا۔مطبوعہ رضا فاؤنڈیشن لاہور)
واللہ تعالٰی اعلم
کتبہ
Mufti Abdul Rehman Qadri
Limbe Jaame Masjid Malawi
8 Moharram 1448 AH
Approved by:
Mufti Farhan Ziai
Mufti Junaid Naeemi
Mufti Asif Naeemi
Dr. Mufti Atauallah Naeemi