I have heard 2 opinions. I followed the first one. Is it okay because I read couple of books and I saw only rule one?
1. If a person stays less than 15 days before leaving for Mina, he is a musafir and will perform Qasar salah during Haj
2. If a person stays more than 15 days in makkah+mina+arafat+muzdalifa he is classified as muqeem(based on ruling that mina ia part of makkah now)
Answer
Wa’alaykum as Salam wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu,
In the time of the Prophet (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and for many centuries thereafter, Makkah was regarded as a separate town, and Mina was a separate towns. There was empty land between the two towns, and everyone agreed that they are not the same.
However, recently, with the expansion of Makkah, both towns are now linked, and also fall under the same municipality.
Some scholars have regarded both towns to be one, and hence issue the verdict that a person will be a Muqeem, if he stays for fifteen days between all this places.
However, the most senior Mufties of South Africa ruled that Makka and Mina will still be regarded as separate, and hence, it is essential to stay in at least one place for more than 15 days in order to be regarded as a Muqeem. This is the more correct view.
And Allaah Ta’aala knows best
Wassalaam,
Ismail Moosa (Mufti)
References
قلت: ولا تعد مكة ومنى مصراً واحداً؟ قال: لا (الأصل للشيباني – 233/1)
إذا نوى إقامة خمسة عشر يوما في موضعين فإن كل واحد منهما أصلا بنفسه فلا يكون أحدهما تبعا للآخر فإن نوى أن يقيم بمكة ومنى فإنه لا يصير مقيما (تحفة الفقهاء – 151/1)