Prayer TimesIslam has established certain special rulings regarding travelers in the performance of acts of worship such as prayer and fasting. Accordingly, among these special rulings are that those who are religiously considered travelers (seferî) perform the obligatory four-unit prayers as two units, and may postpone their Ramadan fasts to be made up later. There are two fundamental criteria for being considered a traveler in religious terms: one is location, and the other is distance. In terms of travel, a person's location is either "vatan-ı aslî," "vatan-ı ikamet," or "vatan-ı süknâ."
Vatan-ı aslî: This means one's original place of residence. It is the place where a person was born and raised, or where they have settled for work, earned a livelihood, bought a house, and settled with their family. In this place, a person is not considered a traveler.
Vatan-ı ikamet: This is a place where a person stays for more than fifteen days without the intention of permanent settlement, and which is at least ninety kilometers away from their original place of residence. In this place as well, the rulings of travel do not apply.
Vatan-ı süknâ: This is a place where a person intends to stay for less than fifteen days, and which is at least ninety kilometers away from their original or residence place (Haddâd, el-Cevhera, 1/87). In this case, the person is considered a traveler. These rulings are according to the Hanafi school.
According to the Shafi'i school, in order to be considered a traveler, one must set out with the intention of traveling approximately 90 kilometers, and must stay at the destination for less than four days, excluding the days of arrival and departure. If one intends to stay for four days or more, the ruling of being a traveler ends (Remlî, Nihâyetü’l-muhtâc, 2/257).
Source: T.C. Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı, Din İşleri Yüksek Kurulu
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