Question: I have been living in the city of A for 8 years. For my holidays, I will go to the city of B (that is at a distance of 330 km in a westerly direction), which is my birthplace. Should I shorten my salats in the city of B?
ANSWER
You will be a safari (traveler) on your way to your destination. However, when you reach there, you will be a muqim (resident).

Question: I was born in the city of A and recently got married in the city of B, where we will live. Which city is my watan al-asli?
ANSWER
Everybody has only one watan al-asli. Your watan al-asli is the city where you got married. If your husband moves to another city in the future with the intention of living there permanently, the city where you got married will not be your watan al-asli anymore. If the place where your home is located is not your watan al-asli, you will not be a muqim, but a safari, there.

Question: Suppose that a Hanafi student who also makes use of the rule of the Maliki Madhhab in salat receives education in the city of A (that is at a safar distance in a westerly direction). His watan al-asli is the city of B. He travels from the city of B to the city of A every Monday and returns to the city of B every Friday. How many rak'ats should he offer for four-rak'at fard salats when he is in the city of A?
ANSWER
He must perform them as two rak'ats when he is in the city of A and on the way. If the city of B were not his watan al-asli, he would be a safari in the city of B as well.

Question: If one sets up camp on a mountain top where there is no one or on an island where there is no house to stay there for more than 15 days, will one be a muqim there?
ANSWER
One will be a muqim there because camp is considered a house. If one stays there without a tent, then one is considered a safari because those who stay on an island where there is no house or in the desert without a tent will not be muqim. (Radd-ul-Mukhtar)

Question: What should one do in order for one to be considered to have settled in a place permanently?
ANSWER
If one has said, "I will not any longer go to the city where I was born [or where I got married]. I will always live in [say] Istanbul," Istanbul becomes one's watan al-asli. As it has become one's watan al-asli, even if one goes to the place where one's parents live or where one got married, one will be a safari there if one stays for less than 15 days. If one stays at a place for more than 15 days, one will be a muqim.

Question: I was born in the city of A and lived there until I was 3 years old. After that, I lived in the city of B for 3 years and then in the city of C for 5 years and then in the city of D for 15 years. I have been living in the city of E for 4 years. If I go to the city of A to stay there for less than 3 days, will I be a muqim or a safari there?
ANSWER
The city of A is your watan al-asli, and all the other cities that you mentioned are your watan al-iqamah. If you stay in the city of A even for an hour, you will be a muqim there, not a safari.

Question: My home town is the city of A. I work in the city of B (that is at a distance of 714 km in a northerly direction). I am not married. I will go to the city of A to stay there for a week. Will I be a safari during my stay there for a week?
ANSWER
If the city of A is your birthplace, you will be a safari only on your way to it. You will be a muqim when you reach there. That is, you cannot shorten salats in the city of A.

Question: How many rak'ats should a safari offer for zukhr-i akhir salat on Friday: two or four?
ANSWER
He must offer two rak'ats.

Question: We are staying in the USA temporarily. At times when we are sure that we will not be able to reach home for salat, we are performing salat in our car by gestures in a seated position with our feet under our bodies. Is it correct?
ANSWER
You must perform salat standing. If it is not possible for you to perform it standing, then you can perform it sitting in the way you mentioned. However, it is possible to find places where you can perform it standing. Men's seeing a woman performing salat does not nullify her salat.

Question: Suppose that one's watan al-asli is the city of A. One is a Hanafi but also makes use of the rule of the Maliki Madhhab in salat. One has been given annual leave for 21 days. One will stay in the city of B (that is at a distance of 239 km in a southerly direction) for 2 days, in the city of C (that is at a distance of 332 km in a westerly direction) for 6 days, in the city of D (that is at a distance of 800 km in a northerly direction) for 8 days, in the city of E (that is at a distance of 193 km in a northerly direction) for a few days and then will go to the city of F (that is at a distance of 271 km in a westerly direction) but will return within the same day. How many rak'ats should one offer for four-rak'at fard salats?
ANSWER
A Hanafi should perform them as two rak'ats in all these cities. A Hanafi person who also follows the Maliki Madhhab in salat out of necessity is considered a muqim at places where he/she stays for 4 days and a safari at places where he/stays for 3 days, excluding the days of arrival and departure

Question: If, in such large cities as Istanbul and New York City, there is a distance of more than 104 km from end to end, does one become a safari when one goes to the other end of the city?
ANSWER
Yes, one becomes a safari. If one travels from Avcilar (a district in Istanbul) to Izmit, one will be a safari if one exceeds 104 km, though the buildings of the district are linked to the city without a break in between. They are like one city. One becomes a safari if the distance exceeds 104 km. Even if the buildings were linked without a break until Ankara and all of them were one city, one would still be a safari.

Question: I am single, and my watan al-asli is the city of A. I settled in the city of B (that is at a distance of 1,167 km in a westerly direction) with the intention of living there permanently. I will get married in the city of C (that is at a distance of 454 km in a northerly direction). Where will my watan al-asli be then?
ANSWER
The city of B where you will live permanently will be your watan al-asli.

Question: My watan al-asli is the city of A, and I got married in the city of B (that is at a distance of 186 km in a westerly direction). My wife died. I still live in the city of B. Where is my watan al-asli?
ANSWER
Your watan al-asli is the city of B unless you move to another place with the intention of living there permanently.

Question: I am a student in the city of A. I travel safar distance every Saturday for work. When I return, I intend to travel to that place the following week as well. Am I considered a safari in the city of A?
ANSWER
You will always be a safari there unless you stop traveling.

Question: Is being a safari an excuse to delay Salat al-Isha until the time when it is makruh to perform Salat al-Isha?
ANSWER
Yes, it is an excuse.

Question: I traveled safar distance with the intention of staying there for a month. I decided to return after staying for 2 days. Do I become a safari the moment I decide to return?
ANSWER
Yes, you become a safari at that moment.

Question: Suppose that a man will travel alone. If he offers some friends of his to travel together, will it free him from committing a makruh act?
ANSWER
No, it will not.

Question: I will go to a city that is at a safar distance to stay there for a few months. I will stay in that city at night and will go to its districts and villages in the daytime. Will that city be my watan al-iqamah?
ANSWER
If you intend to stay in that city at night and at other places in the daytime, that city will be your watan al-iqamah.

Question: Suppose that one goes to a city that is at a safar distance to stay there for a month. Then one decides to return after staying there for a day. Does it change one from being a muqim to being a safari?
ANSWER
One is a muqim until one decides to return. Then one returns as a safari. (Fatawa-i Hindiyya)

Question: Does one become a muqim when one flies over one's watan al-asli?
ANSWER
Yes, one becomes a muqim.

Question: Where is the watan al-asli of a civil servant?
ANSWER
The place where a civil servant has settled with his family with the intention of living there permanently is his watan al-asli. The niyyah (intention) of a civil servant who is not married does not change his watan al-asli. His watan al-asli is the place where he was born.

Question: If a man stays at his summer house where he got married for 6 months and in the city for 6 months, where is his watan al-asli?
ANSWER
His watan al-asli is the city.

Question: If one's village is wiped out by floods, where will one's watan al-asli be?
ANSWER
The place where one has settled after that will be one's watan al-asli.

Question: Is the room where salat is performed at a terminus or hotel considered a masjid?
ANSWER
Yes, it is considered a masjid if it is used exclusively for salat and if the salat is performed in jama'at.

Question: I am at my watan al-asli and will return to my watan al-iqamah to buy something. How many rak'ats will I offer for salats when I am in my watan al-iqamah?
ANSWER
You will perform salats there by shortening them because your watan al-iqamah was cancelled when you went to your watan al-asli.

Question: If a safari cannot find water to wash impurity, what should he do?
ANSWER
If a safari on a long-distance journey cannot find water within one mile, (if there are no clean clothes available) he performs salat with the covering that has impurity on it, in which case he will not have to repeat it later. It is not permissible for a person who cannot find any clean clothes to miss a salat. A person who cannot find anything besides a covering less than one-fourth of which is clean is permitted to perform salat wearing the covering or by signs sitting; however, with a covering one-fourth of which is clean, he has to perform it standing, in which case he will not repeat the salat later.

Question: What is meant by the place where one got married? The place where the first marital sexual intercourse took place?
ANSWER
Yes, if the wedding ceremony is held in, for example, Istanbul and if the marriage is consummated in, for example, Izmir, one is considered to have married in Izmir.

Question: If one starts a journey from Heybeliada (in the Sea of Marmara) to go to Ankara, when will one become a safari?
ANSWER
One becomes a safari on leaving the island. All the islands are considered independent cities. One must calculate the distance starting from Heybeliada. Suppose that the distance between Heybeliada and Izmit is 110 km. One who travels there from Heybeliada becomes a safari.

Question: It is written in the book Se'adet-i Ebediyye, "It is makruh for one man or two men to go on a journey. It is not makruh for three men. It is sunnat for four men to travel together and for them to choose one from among themselves to be the head." If a man travels by bus, by train, by plane, or by ship, will he be considered to be traveling alone? Is it makruh?
ANSWER
No, it is not makruh because he travels among many people.