The ruling on combining the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers in the rain

The questioner : The questioner says: Honorable Shaykh, it has been observed that some rain has fallen this Ramadan. Do the people combine the Maghrib and 'Isha' prayers? And if they do combine them, do they pray the tarawih immediately, or what do they do?

The Shaykh : I think we recited, after the Friday prayer before last, a fatwa from the Permanent Committee warning against being lenient in combining the Maghrib and 'Isha' or the Dhuhr and 'Asr. They stated that one does not combine in the rain unless it wets the clothes and there is hardship involved.
We commented on that and warned against negligence, and we remain on this position. However, if the rain is truly heavy, then combining is permissible.
And when the combined prayer is finished, the one who wants to give the congregation a choice says: Do you wish that we pray the tarawih now and then we disperse to our homes, or do you disperse to your homes and each prays in his own home?
There remains a third issue: or you come to the mosque and we pray the tarawih. But this is impossible. Why? Because if they said, "Yes, we will come for the tarawih," we would say, "Then there is no need to combine." So what remains for us is only to give them a choice: if they wish, they stay for the tarawih after the 'Isha' prayer, and if they wish, they disperse and each prays in his own home.