The Criterion of Hardship That Permits Combining Prayers in the Rain

Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. We are a group of mosque imams, and we are presenting this problem to your eminence, which is the issue of combining prayers in the rain. When some rain falls, we exercise independent legal reasoning and combine the prayers, because there is hardship in the view of the mosque imam. However, some of the youth go to one of the scholars and inform him of the situation, and he says this combining is not permissible, which causes confusion among the worshippers. We ask your eminence to clarify the criterion for hardship that justifies combining in the rain, and whether the ground must be slippery. Who is considered regarding the hardship: are they the elderly and those similar to them, or the majority of the congregation? We ask for clarification on this, may Allah grant you success.

Answer:
Not every rain permits combining. It is strange that some imams, if they see the tents are wet or see a light sprinkle, they go [to combine]. This is not permissible. The rain intended is that which wets the clothes; it wets the clothes when one goes out, and the rain causes the clothes to become wet. As for a light breeze that flows, it does not harm the traveler.
Or the ground is muddy with mud between him and the mosque, so his feet slip and he stumbles. Even if there is no rain at the time of the call to prayer, the presence of mud and clay is sufficient. Or it is a severe cold that poses a danger to them. That is, three things: either rain falls and reaches the area between him and the mosque, this is one.
The second is the aftermath of rain. There is no rain, but its effects are in the ground. The ground has mud or has pools of water. On a rainy day, water gathers and becomes large pools, and people walk through the middle of the water. This is also an excuse.
The third excuse is if there is no rain and no mud, but there is a severe cold wind on a dark night. That is, a cold, severe night and a dark night. In these three matters, it is permissible to combine the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers, either combining by bringing them forward for the sake of the people's comfort, or combining by delaying them if that is easier for them.
As for the mere presence of rain, or a light shower, or rain that has stopped and there is no wetness, the ground is dry and the rain has passed, or it is clear and there are no water pools or mud, then it is not permissible. May Allah be Glorified and Exalted, He said: It is suspended, so it must be performed in its times except for a legal excuse that necessitates combining. So the imams should fear Allah the Exalted and Majestic.
As for who is considered from the congregation, the consideration is that it is difficult for them, even if they are few in number, the elderly.