Ruling on Shortening the Prayer (Qasr) for Stay Exceeding Twenty Days — In Light of Qur’an and Hadith
Source: Fatawa ‘Ilmiyyah, Volume 1, Kitab al-Salah, Page 442
❖ Ruling of Qasr Prayer in One’s Native Region
Question:
My parents have been residing in Tehsil Bahawalnagar for the past twenty (20) years, while our ancestral lands are located in Haroonabad and Bahawalpur, which are approximately 50 km and 250 km away from Bahawalpur city, respectively. The scholar of our central mosque has stated that one cannot perform Qasr prayer in these regions. Kindly clarify the matter in the light of Qur’an and Hadith.
(Abu Fahad, Bahawalpur)
✿ Authentic Hadith Regarding the Duration of Qasr Prayer:
Narrated by ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنه) in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī:
“أقام رسول الله ﷺ تسعة عشر يقصر، فنحن إذا سافرنا تسعة عشر قصرنا، وإن زدنا أتممنا”
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ stayed (at a place during travel) for nineteen days and offered shortened prayers. So when we travel for nineteen days, we also shorten the prayer; but if we stay longer, we complete the prayer.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Kitāb Qasr al-Ṣalāh, Bāb Mā Jā’a fī al-Taqṣīr wa Kam Yaqīm Ḥattā Yaqṣur, Ḥadīth 1080)
✔ Ruling Derived from the Issue:
◈ This Hadith clearly establishes that if a person intends to stay at a location for twenty days or more, then Qasr prayer should not be performed; rather, the full prayer must be offered.
✿ Application to the Current Case:
◈ Since you and your parents are permanently residing in Tehsil Bahawalnagar, and
◈ Your lands are located in Haroonabad and Bahawalpur, which you frequently visit,
◈ And these locations are ancestrally connected to you,
Therefore:
◈ You are not considered a traveler (musafir) in these areas.
◈ You must perform the full prayer (not Qasr) in these regions.
◈ This ruling is based on the principles of Qur’an, Sunnah, and juristic guidelines.
❖ Additional References:
◈ Monthly Shahādah, April 2001
◈ Monthly Shahādah, July 2001
✔ Summary:
◈ Since your visits to your ancestral areas — Haroonabad and Bahawalpur — are not made with a traveler’s mindset but rather due to ownership and familial ties, and your stays there are frequent and not temporary,
◈ You are not a traveler in these areas.
◈ Thus, performing the full prayer is obligatory; the ruling of Qasr does not apply.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
