Ibn Majah

1؎: The Muhajirun were those people who migrated from Makkah to Madinah for the sake of Allah Ta'ala. The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) did not permit the Muhajirun to stay in Makkah for more than three days. The connection of this hadith to the chapter heading is not immediately apparent, but it can be said that since the Muhajirun, who were travelers in Makkah, were allowed by the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) to stay for three days, it is understood that staying for three days does not nullify the ruling of travel. Therefore, if a traveler intends to stay in a city for three days, he should perform shortened prayers (qasr). There is much difference of opinion among the scholars on this issue, but the Ahl al-Hadith have adopted the view that if a traveler, with hesitation or uncertainty, happens to stay somewhere, he should continue to perform shortened prayers (qasr) for up to twenty days; after that, he should perform the full prayer. This is because in the hadith of Jabir (radi Allahu anhu), it is mentioned that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) ordered the performance of shortened prayers (qasr) during a stay of twenty nights in Tabuk, because qasr was legislated in the state of travel, and when one settles, travel no longer remains. And if a traveler intends with certainty to stay somewhere, then if he intends to stay for four days or more, after four days he should perform the full prayer, and if he intends to stay for less than four days, he should perform qasr. This is the well-known position of the Hanbali school. The evidence for this is that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) arrived in Makkah on the morning of the 4th of Dhu al-Hijjah, stayed until the 7th, and on the morning of the 8th, after performing the Fajr prayer, proceeded to Mina, and during these four days, he performed shortened prayers (qasr) in Makkah. Whereas it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) performed shortened prayers (qasr) in Makkah for nineteen days (Sahih al-Bukhari). From this, it is understood that the limit of residence is not four days. In Sunan Abi Dawud (1235), it is narrated from Jabir (radi Allahu anhu) that there was a stay of twenty days in Tabuk, and shortened prayers (qasr) were performed. The mention of different durations in various hadiths does not mean that there is any contradiction; the narrators reported according to their own knowledge. The preferred opinion is that a traveler should continue to perform shortened prayers (qasr) and combine prayers (jam‘) as long as he does not intend to settle and does not end his journey. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimahullah) states that for the traveler, shortened prayer (qasr) and breaking the fast (iftar) are permissible until he adopts residence and settlement, and distinguishing between a resident and a traveler based on the intention of staying for a few days is something unknown in the Shari‘ah and in customary practice.