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Fatwa CenterA Traveler Passing Through a City Where He Owns a House
Question
Assalamu 'alaikum. I would like to ask a question regarding travellers. If someone has 2 houses which are far away from each other and if he lives in one and goes to the other for a few days or maybe like a couple of weeks occasionally, will he be considered a traveller? He is not settling down there
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad 
is His slave and Messenger.
It is permissible for the mentioned person to offer Qasr (shortening) of the prayer in the other city where he has a house and that is not his hometown, provided two conditions are met:
First: The distance between the two cities must be the distance of Qasr, i.e. about 83 or 84 kilometres.
Second: He should not intend to stay there for a period that nullifies the status of travel. The ruling of being considered a traveller ceases if he intends to reside there for four days, excluding the days of arrival and departure.
Therefore, if the distance between the two cities qualifies as legal travel distance, and he does not intend to stay for four days, he is allowed to shorten the prayer and avail himself of the concessions of travel, even if he owns a house there. Having a house in that city does not negate his status as a traveller. Al-Mawardi, a Shafi’i scholar, stated in Al-Hawi: “If a traveller passes through a city where he owns a house, property, or has relatives, it is permissible for him to shorten the prayer there, because the Messenger of Allah, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, shortened the prayer during his stay in Makkah for the Farewell Pilgrimage, accompanied by most of his Companions, many of whom had houses, property, and relatives in Makkah.” [End quote]
However, if the distance is less than the legislated travel distance, or he intends to stay there for four days or more, he is not considered a traveller and is not permitted to avail the concessions of travel.
Allah knows best.
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