The Ruling on Shortening and Combining Prayers When It Rains

The Shaykh:
May Allah greet you and bless you.

The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, we begin with a message from our brother Abu Ahmad, the imam of one of the mosques. He says: Honorable Shaykh, the issue of combining and shortening prayers when it rains is difficult for us. Some of the mosque congregation say, “Combine and shorten.” Is the presence of mud necessary? Is the prayer shortened when heavy rain falls? May you be rewarded. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and all his Companions. To proceed: shortening the prayer is not permissible.

The Shaykh:
It is not permissible except in travel, where the distance is eighty kilometers or more. As for other than travel, shortening is not permissible. Shortening is not permissible. You pray the prayer in full. Allah the Exalted said: . Meaning, you traveled. . Shortening is a dispensation specific to travel.
Whoever shortens the prayer while resident, his prayer is not valid. His prayer is invalid. It is obligatory for him to repeat it. He must pray it in full. As for combining, it is permissible while resident in the case of rain that falls and wets the clothes when people go out to pray and their clothes get wet by the rain. In that case, they combine Maghrib and 'Isha' specifically. It is not permissible to combine any other prayers than Maghrib and 'Isha' in the case of rain. Likewise, in the case of the mud and clay that remains after the rain, if the rain stops but water, mud, and clay remain on the ground, this permits combining Maghrib and 'Isha'. There is a difference between shortening and combining. Combining is permissible while resident and while traveling, but only between Maghrib and 'Isha' in the case of rain and mud. As for shortening, it is not permissible except in travel that reaches a distance of eighty kilometers or more. Yes.