Question:

I live in Port Louis, I left home with the intention to go to Reunion and I was in Plane Magnien at the time of Zohr. The Salaah of Zohr in Jamaat had already been completed. How many Rak'aat of Zohr should I have performed? I stayed there until ‘Assr. Before the time of ‘Assr, I changed my intention of going to Reunion and returned home. Was I still a Musaafir then?

Reply:

The moment you left Port Louis, you became a Musaafir. When a Musaafir performs Salaah behind an Imam, he must do the same like the Imam and if he does so individually, then he should reduce the Salaah of 4 Rak'aat to 2 Rak’aat. Thus, you should have performed only 2 Rak'aat of Zohr at Plaine Magnien because it would have been performed individually. Secondly, when you made intention of not continuing your journey and returning home, you were no longer a Musaafir. Thus, you were supposed to perform 4 Rak'aat of 'Assr although you would have performed it alone.

In principle, when a person changes intention during his journey, he must see if the place he is at present, is at a distance of less than 48 miles from his home or more. If it is less than 48 miles, he has already become a Muqeem, that is, he must perform his Salaah normally. But if it is at a distance of 48 miles or more, then he will remain a Musaafir until he does not reach his locality.

[English version of "Voyage pou la Réunion et retourner sans voyager" – Al Jamiat – Vol.6 No.6]