What determines the boundry of a town or city? Several cities are very large and one could be a musafir just travelling from one end to the other eg. Johannesburg?

Question

Is it the boundry of the city itself or the suburb. In other words if I were to travel from a suburb in the East of Jhb to a suburb in the west of Jhb and the distance were to be more than 48miles would I be a musafir? Is the criteria of 48miles applied to the distance travelled to reach the destination or the direct distance to the place I am going to i.e. as the crow flies.

Mufti Ebrahim Desai · Accepted Answer

If there is a distance of one Galwa (appr. 137 meters) between the town and suburb, then the suburb will be considered independent, i.e. once the person leaves the boundary of the city, then he will perform Qasr Salaat.

But if the suburb is linked to the city, i.e. there is a distance of lesser than 1 Galwa then the suburb will be considered as part of the city, i.e. if he is in the suburb, then he will still be considered a Muqeem. Generally, there is a separation of at least one Galwa between the town and suburb. Therefore, the suburbs are very closely linked to the city. One will have to make Qasr when he leaves the town and vice versa.

and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT.

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