Question: Could you please explain the rulings regarding travel (safar) with examples?
ANSWER
1. Suppose that the watan al-asli of a man is the city of A. He has gone to the city of B that is at a distance of 1796 km in a westerly direction with the intention of residing there permanently, and he is staying in a hotel temporarily. His children and wife will come when he rents a house. In this case, the city of B has become his watan al-asli.

2. Suppose that the watan al-asli of a man is the city of A. He resides in the town of B that is at a distance of 963 km in a westerly direction. His pregnant wife, who resides in the city of A, gives birth to her baby in the town of B. She leaves the baby with her husband and returns to the city of A. In this case, the watan al-asli of the baby is the town of B. A place where a baby was born and raised becomes its watan al-asli. The parents' watan al-asli does not affect the baby's watan al-asli.

3. Suppose that a boy was born in the city of A. He settled in the town of B six years later together with his father. He attended elementary school there and then traveled to several cities to receive education. In this case, his watan al-asli is still the city of A.

4. If one sets out from the city of A with the intention of traveling to the city of B that is at a distance of 350 km in a westerly direction, one becomes a safari (traveler). Then if one returns to the city of A and decides to go to the city of B a week later, one becomes a safari in the city of A, too.

5. If one goes to the town of B that is at a distance of 478 km from the city of A in a westerly direction with the intention of staying there for 15 days and then predicts that one will settle one's affairs within 10 days, one will become a safari beginning from the moment one has decided to stay there for less than 15 days.

6. Suppose that a man's watan al-asli is the city of A. He resides for work in the town of B that is at a distance of 861 km in a westerly direction. He shuttles between the town of B and his office that is at a distance of 120 km for his job every day except on Sundays. In this case, he is a safari both in the town of B and at the place where his office is. He must apply this ruling all through his life unless his working conditions change. If the town of B became his watan al-asli, he would not be a safari when one is there. In this case, one would be a safari the moment one would leave the town of B until one would reach it again after work.

7. Suppose that the watan al-asli of a bus driver is the city of A. He travels back and forth between the cities of B and C on alternate days. The distance between these two cities is 395 km. He has homes in both the city of B and the city of C. In this case, he will always be a safari unless he intends to stay for more than 15 days in these two cities. If he goes to the city of A, he will not be a safari there because it is his watan al-asli. One's being a safari is cancelled in one's watan al-asli if one stays there even for an hour.

8. Suppose that one's watan al-asli is the city of A, and one resides in the city of B that is at a distance of 679 km. If one, while touring, stops by, without intending, a town that is at a distance of 45 km in a westerly direction and decides there to go to the city of C that is at a distance of 343 km in an easterly direction, one becomes a safari the moment one leaves that town if one goes to the city of C without stopping by the city of B. If one stops by the city of B, one becomes a muqim (resident) there. However, if one, while traveling back from the city of C, makes the intention of going to that town by a route that passes through the city of B, one is a safari in that city.

9. When one stays on a ship for more than 15 days due to repair works and the captain says, "We will stay on board for more than 15 days," one will be a muqim on land and a safari at sea. The ship cannot be a watan (home). Even if the captain says that it is not certain how many days they will be on board, one will still be a safari even if they stay on board for more than 15 days.

A traveler should say the words of adhan when he performs salat whether individually or in jama'at or whether in a house or in the mosque. The adhan called out in a mosque does not include his salat.

If a traveler who has caught up with the imam in the last rak'at of Salat al-Asr performs the salat as four rak'ats thinking that the imam is a muqim and then learns that the imam is a traveler, there is no harm in performing it as four rak'ats as it is not a deliberate action.

In order for a traveler to combine two salats on a journey by following the ruling of the Shafi'i Madhhab or Maliki Madhhab, there must be a necessity. One is not allowed to combine two salats on a journey or at the place where one resides during one's journey unless there is a necessity because gathering easy rulings of the madhhabs is termed talfiq, which is impermissible.

If one who is traveling by train is unable to perform salats standing, one should perform salats by combining them when the train stops.

If one with khuffs starts a journey in a state of wudu', the duration within which it is permissible to wipe over khuffs starts when one's wudu' breaks. From then onward, one can wipe over them for three days.