Question: I follow maliki fiqh and got to the hotel and my intention is for 4 days to stay in this new city for work. What does one do? Shorten the prayer? Combine the prayer? How about on the way to the hotel? On the way back home? Where to shorten, where to combine? Lets say I am traveling to Johannesburg from NY. Jazakallah khair.

Answer: In the Maliki school, shortening of prayers (qasr) during travel is regarded as a strong Sunnah and highly encouraged to be practiced.

Travel however is divided into two distinct portions:

A) Movement (Sayr)
Sayr refers to the act of traveling, which begins upon leaving your city limits and continues until reaching your destination, regardless of the journey’s duration. During this phase, the traveler (sa’ir) may shorten (qasr) and combine (jam’) prayers.

B) Arrival (Safar)
Safar refers to the period after arrival at the destination. The traveler (musafir) may shorten prayers but cannot combine them if the intended stay is less than four days (or 20 prayers). Staying for four days or more reclassifies the individual as a resident (muqim), requiring prayers to be performed in full.

To qualify as a traveler, the distance must be at least 48 miles. If traveling from city to city then the four-day limit will reset with each new arrival.

Application: Traveling to Johannesburg for Four Days

1. While Traveling (Sayr):
   • Shorten (qasr) and combine (jam’) prayers:
     • Dhuhr and Asr: two rak’ahs each.
     • Maghrib and Isha: three rak’ahs for Maghrib and two rak’ahs for Isha.
2. While in Joburg (Safar):
   • Shorten prayers (Dhuhr, Asr, and Isha: two rak’ahs each).
   • Do not combine prayers.
   • Maghrib remains three rak’ahs, and Fajr remains two rak’ahs.
3. Returning Home (Sayr):
   • Resume shortening and combining prayers as during the journey to Johannesburg.

Make take away:

• If the intention is to stay for more than four days, you are classified as a resident (muqim) and must pray in full without combining.
• Intention determines classification. If uncertain about the duration of the stay, you remain a traveler until four days or 20 prayers have passed.

Allah Certainly Knows Best.