The scholars have differed regarding the duration of shortening prayers during travel.
The first opinion is that the considered duration for shortening prayers during travel is fifteen days. If someone intends to stay for more than fifteen days, they should offer complete prayers; otherwise, they can shorten them. This is the view of our Hanafi scholars, may Allah be pleased with them, and it is the one we choose.
The second opinion is that if someone intends to stay for four days, or if they pass through a place of residence for twenty prayers, they should offer complete prayers; otherwise, they can shorten them, excluding the day of arrival and the day of departure.
This is the opinion of the Maliki and Shafi’i schools, and the Hanbalis as well, with the exception that they set a limit for the intention of residence as more than four days, not four. Meaning, if someone passes through a place of residence for twenty-one prayers, they should offer complete prayers; otherwise, they can shorten them.
Therefore, if someone intends to stay for two months in a place, they should not shorten their prayers unless they initiate a new journey for a distance greater than the limit for shortening but shorter than the duration of shortening.
For example, if someone travels to Al-Madinah for a period of two months, they should not shorten their prayers. However, if they then travel from Al-Madinah to Jeddah for a visit lasting less than fifteen days, they are allowed to shorten their prayers in Jeddah according to our school of thought.
And Allah knows best.
Fatwa by Dr. Khālid Naṣr