The ruling on combining two prayers for the follower if the imam does not combine

The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, regarding this, if the imam says, “By Allah, I wish I did not combine,” and he prays only the obligatory Zuhr prayer, and then another person stands up and leads the people in combining, is that permissible?

The Shaykh : This is an encroachment on the right of the congregation.

The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the issue of combining, if the imam sees that he should not combine for some reason, for example, in his own mind, but the follower finds that the conditions for combining are present and he wants to combine, is it permissible for him to combine on his own?

The Shaykh : Yes. He has missed the congregation for him. We want to combine two things: the dispensation and the obligation. So in this case, he abstains from the congregation, achieving the dispensation without achieving the obligation, and this is a loss. The congregational prayer.

The questioner : Is it permissible for him to combine? Yes. It will be permitted.

The Shaykh : How do we confirm? It is permitted on the condition that he has lost the obligation.