For how long is one permitted to shorten and combine prayers while traveling, and is it permissible for a female student to combine and shorten prayers if lectures coincide with prayer times?

There is no definitive proof regarding the duration of shortening prayers for a traveler, which has led to differences among scholars. Some scholars, like the Hanbalis, believe that if a traveler intends to stay for more than four days, they should pray their full prayers. Others, including Imam Malik and Imam Shafi'i, hold that if a traveler intends to stay for four days, they are obliged to pray their full prayers. Meanwhile, the Hanafis are of the opinion that if a traveler intends to stay for more than fifteen days, they should pray their full prayers.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah held that the rulings of travel remain applicable to the traveler unless they intend to settle permanently or reside indefinitely without a time limit or specific work. This is based on the general nature of the evidence that did not specify a duration for shortening prayers, such as the Prophet (peace be upon him) staying twenty days in Tabuk and nineteen days in Mecca during the year of the Conquest while shortening his prayers.

Therefore, whoever intends to settle permanently or reside indefinitely should pray their full prayers. As for one who does not intend this, they are considered a traveler and are permitted to shorten and combine prayers, even if they are settled in one place, as evidenced by the Prophet's (peace be upon him) combining prayers during the Battle of Tabuk while he was settled.