Q: Is it permissible for a traveler who stays for three or six days or even for one year to shorten Salah (Prayers)? Is it permissible to perform Tayammum (dry ablution with clean earth) using stones?

A: All praise be to Allah Alone, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger, and his family and Companions. Firstly: Travelers who intend to stay in any country for (Part No. 5; Page No. 350) more than four days should not shorten Salah. But if they intend to stay less than four days, then they are permitted to shorten Salah. Secondly: If they need to perform Tayammum, they have to perform it with clean earth. Allah (Exalted be He) says (what means): ...perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands (Tayammum). It means the clean dust of the earth as the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The whole earth has been made for us a Masjid (place of worship), and its soil has been made for us a purifier in case we cannot find water.” (Related by Muslim) May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.