Question
I want to know in what conditions are we allowed to shorten the Prayer? For how long are we to offer qasar prayer while on journey? In fact presently we live in a hostel. I am not sure when we should consider stationed ourselves, while at home or in the hostel? Where should we offer the prayer in short form? Usually we go home after a couple of weeks. Please explain.
Answer
There is no explicit answer to this question in Qur’an and Sunnah. Therefore, Muslim jurists have tried to solve it on the bisis of ijthiad. Hanafi jurists hold that a person must offer full prayer when he is at home, regardless of the duration of his stay. Similarly, a person must offer full prayer when he is staying away from home and intends to spend 15 consecutive days there. According to this opinion, you should offer full prayer both at home and during your stay at hostel.
Answered by: Ammar Khan Nasir
Date: 2015-03-03
