What is the criterion for allowing a traveler to shorten prayers (Qasr) during extended stays?
Chapter on the Traveler's Prayer
Al-Mughni
Book of Prayer
Primary text
A person who does not intend to reside for a period exceeding twenty-one prayers retains the permission to shorten prayers. This applies even if the stay lasts for years, such as staying to fulfill a need with the expectation of resolution, participating in Jihad against an enemy, or being detained by a ruler or due to illness. This permissibility remains whether the expectation is for the need to be resolved quickly or over a long period, provided that the potential resolution period allows for the status of travel to persist.
Supporting text
Scholars have unanimously agreed that a traveler may shorten prayers as long as they do not determine a fixed residency, even if they stay for years. Evidence supports this: the Prophet (peace be upon him) prayed with two rak'ahs during a journey lasting nineteen days, and during the Battle of Tabuk for twenty days. Similarly, the Prophet stayed in Mecca for eighteen days shortening prayers. Companions such as Ibn Umar stayed for six months in Adharbayjan praying short prayers due to snow blocking their return, and Anas ibn Malik stayed in Sham for two years performing the traveler's prayer.