Fatwa no. 7999 All praise is due to Allah Alone and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger Muhammad, his family, and Companions. The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta' has read the letter that was sent to His Honor the General Chairman from General `Abdul-Muhsin ibn `Abdullah Al Al-Shaykh. The Director of the Religious Affairs Department in the Armed Forces No. 21/10/2 and dated 1/1/1405 A. H. Following is the text of the letter:The Armed Forces will organize a training camp these days near the Military City in Hafr Al-Batin. It will include a large number of Gulf State and Saudi forces and it will be called Dir` Al-Jazeerah, i.e. The Island's Armor. Those who participate will take part in military training and combat maneuvers. They will stay in tents far away from the Military City at Hafr Al-Batin at a distance not less than 70 to 80 kilometers. Participants will come from far away regions in the Kingdom and the Gulf The period they will stay there will vary. Some of them will stay for more than a month and some for less, but throughout the entire time they will all undergo rigorous military (Part No. 8; Page No. 150) trainings We hope that Your Honor will clarify the ruling on whether they are considered travelers so that they may take advantage of the Rukhsahs (concessions) of travel such as shortening and combining Prayers and praying Zhuhr instead of Jumu`ah (Friday) Prayer; or are they considered residents required to perform full Prayers and observe Jumu`ah Prayer? Please advise us may Allah preserve you.The Committee has also read the letter sent by the same sender No. 135/10/2 dated 1/1/1405. Following is the text of the letter; in addition to our letter No. 21/10/2 dated 1/1/1405 A. H. In which we explained the status of the joint forces regarding the Dir` Al-Jazeerah training requesting Your Honor to clarify the ruling on whether they are considered travelers so that they may benefit from the Rukhsahs (concessions) of travel such as shortening and combining Prayers and praying Zhuhr instead of Jumu`ah (Friday) Prayer. We would like to inform Your Honor that some units of these forces move outside the region where the camp is located for distances ranging between 30 to 100 kilometers. We hope that Your Honor will consider this issue along with the answer for the main question so that the benefit will be more comprehensive. May Allah preserve you.