Is it permissible to combine the Zuhr and 'Asr prayers because of rain, or is this specific to the two night prayers?

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Regarding combining the two prayers because of rain, he asks: Is it permissible to combine the two midday prayers, or is it specific to the two night prayers, and when are they combined?

The Shaykh:
The two night prayers are combined because people need to combine the two night prayers on a rainy night in order to stay warm in their homes. As for between Zuhr and 'Asr, people are not crowded in their homes; they go to the markets, they go to their work, they disperse during the day because it is daytime, they disperse seeking sustenance. So there is a difference between this and that. Yes.

The questioner:
And he says, may Allah preserve you, when is it permissible to combine because of rain?

The Shaykh:
It is the rain that wets the clothes. The rain that wets the clothes; if it comes out, you wait for your clothes to get wet. This is what permits combining. As for just a light drizzle, this does not permit combining. Tell me, if one person yesterday saw the sky. He saw the sky and combined. The day they went to the mosque, there was no sky [rain], no rain fell, nothing fell. He says: We have old people with us and we want to combine for their sake. This is playing with the prayer. This is playing with the prayer. It is not permissible, and the prayer is not valid except in its time, except for a valid reason that justifies combining between them. One does not play with the prayers so that a person can go and rest. This is not permissible. Yes.