🕌 Worship in the home · #27
When going back to the home town with the family, may prayers be combined and shortened?
Yes, if the journey reaches the travel distance (two marhalah, usually given as about 81 kilometres in Malaysia) and is not for sinful purposes.
Allah permits shortening the prayer when travelling (an-Nisa' 4:101), and Ibn ʿUmar r.a. said the Prophet ﷺ never prayed more than two rakaat on a journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 1102). Shortening applies only to the four-rakaat prayers (Zuhr, ʿAsr, ʿIsha); Maghrib and Fajr are not shortened. According to the Shafi'i school, the concession lasts as long as one does not intend to stay four full days at the destination, not counting the days of arrival and departure; if one intends to stay longer, one prays in full on arrival. A home town that is no longer one's place of residence can still count as a travel destination according to many scholars, but if you have a house and a wife there, ask a teacher, as there are details. Teach the children how to combine and shorten on the journey. See Prayer guide.
Allah permits shortening the prayer when travelling (an-Nisa' 4:101), and Ibn ʿUmar r.a. said the Prophet ﷺ never prayed more than two rakaat on a journey (Sahih al-Bukhari 1102). Shortening applies only to the four-rakaat prayers (Zuhr, ʿAsr, ʿIsha); Maghrib and Fajr are not shortened. According to the Shafi'i school, the concession lasts as long as one does not intend to stay four full days at the destination, not counting the days of arrival and departure; if one intends to stay longer, one prays in full on arrival. A home town that is no longer one's place of residence can still count as a travel destination according to many scholars, but if you have a house and a wife there, ask a teacher, as there are details. Teach the children how to combine and shorten on the journey. See Prayer guide.
Sources
Surah an-Nisa' 4:101Sahih al-Bukhari 1102Sahih al-Bukhari 1090