How Does One Determine Travel When Traveling within a Large City?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate

I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.

There are two opinions. Some Muftis and scholars are of the view that the entire Greater London region is one city based on custom (ʿurf). Some say each borough will be treated as a town or city, for the boroughs designated as cities to shorten the prayer. You may choose and follow any one of the two opinions.

London is composed of 33 boroughs, two of which are legally designated as cities. Each borough is governed by a local government that provides most local government services. Each borough is treated as a town or city for prayer purposes, depending on its legal designation. This means that a resident of Waltham Forest, for example, can shorten their prayer when traveling outside the borough with the intention of the travel distance and resume it upon re-entering.

London is divided into 33 boroughs, each governed by their own councils. However, this division is purely administrative. In both custom and law, Greater London is seen as one city. This means that residents do not calculate journey distances from their borough’s boundaries. Instead, they calculate it from the point where the settlement of London ends.

The determination of a city is usually based on the distance between settlements rather than the size of the population or how far apart they are. If the settlements are within a certain distance, they are considered part of the same city. London, for example, is defined by a specific distance, and everything within that distance is considered part of the same city.

One is only considered a traveler once one leaves city limits – and city limits are known in modern cities. In Islamic history, there were many large cities that, though smaller than modern cities, took a long time to cross by horse or on foot, so this ruling isn’t unique.[Ibn ʿAbidin, Radd al-Muhtar]

I would like you to go through the valuable answers and links below. You will receive guidance and direction in sha Allah.

Related
The Etiquette of Travelling: A Comprehensive SeekersHub Reader (seekersguidance.org)
Legal Rulings of Travel: A Reader – SeekersGuidance
Shortening Salah and status of London | Islamic Portal
Calculating the travel distance for Londoners – Nawhami

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I pray this helps with your question.

Wassalam,

[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey.

He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled into an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and Alimiyyah sciences. He then travelled to Karachi, Pakistan.

He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for a number of years. He has taught hifz of the Qur’an, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to both children and adults onsite and online extensively in UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences.

He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His personal interest is the love of books and gardening.