Answer to a question concerning the hadith on combining the two prayers while resident.
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The Shaykh : All praise is due to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and from the evil of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He leaves to mislead, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger.
As for what follows:
We had been speaking before the Maghrib adhan about the answer to a question posed to me regarding the hadith on combining the two prayers while resident. The discussion went back and forth, and it ended with my reminding the questioner of the hadith of Ibn Abbas, which Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih from him (may Allah be pleased with him):
قالوا يا أبا العباس، -وهي كنية عبد الله بن عباس- ماذا أراد بذلك؟ أي ماذا أراد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بهذا الجمع الذي رويته لنا عنه ؟
قال أراد ألا يُحرج أمّته أراد ألا يُحرج أمته I had spoken before mentioning and narrating this hadith about the combining that came in the Sunnah, and I mentioned that in summary it is of two types: one is an absolute combining that does not specify the nature of this combining, and the other is one that specifies that it is a true combining, which corresponds to this combining that is the second type, and there is no third. A type to which the Hanafi scholars in particular, and some of the Zaydis in general, adhere, holding that it is a formal combining. As for the Hanafis, they hold that all the hadiths that came of the second type, which is the true combining, are contradictory. This is as it came in *Sahih Muslim* from the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him): This is the true combining, meaning that he delayed the Zuhr prayer until the first time of Asr entered, then he prayed Zuhr, then he prayed Asr. This is a true combining. Then Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: So he combined them with a true combining in the time of the latter of the two. This is a hadith that Imam Muslim mentioned in his *Sahih*, as we stated.
As for the third combining, which is called the formal combining, we can say that it is formal, having no reality or existence except in the minds of some who interpret some of the hadiths. The people furthest from these hadiths are the Hanafis, who deny the legitimacy of the true combining in travel, except at 'Arafah and Muzdalifah only. They interpret all the hadiths that came with combining as an interpretation of the formal combining, meaning by this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he combined in travel, would delay the first prayer, such as Zuhr with Asr, until before the time of Asr, or until the last time of Asr, so that he would hardly pray Zuhr before the time of Asr had entered, and so with Maghrib and 'Isha.
We do not find a clear, explicit true form for this formal combining in all the hadiths that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he combined between the prayers.
As for what follows:
We had been speaking before the Maghrib adhan about the answer to a question posed to me regarding the hadith on combining the two prayers while resident. The discussion went back and forth, and it ended with my reminding the questioner of the hadith of Ibn Abbas, which Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih from him (may Allah be pleased with him):
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in Madinah between Zuhr and Asr, and between Maghrib and 'Isha, seven times without travel or rain—and in a narration, fear is mentioned instead of rain. They said, "O Abu al-Abbas—and this is the kunya of Abdullah ibn Abbas—what did he intend by that?" Meaning, what did the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) intend by this combining that you narrated to us from him? He said, "He intended not to cause hardship for his Ummah. He intended not to cause hardship for his Ummah."
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم جمع في المدينة بين الظهر والعصر وبين المغرب والعشاء سبعًا دون سفر ولا مطر -وفي رواية بدل المطر الخوف-قالوا يا أبا العباس، -وهي كنية عبد الله بن عباس- ماذا أراد بذلك؟ أي ماذا أراد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بهذا الجمع الذي رويته لنا عنه ؟
قال أراد ألا يُحرج أمّته أراد ألا يُحرج أمته
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in travel between Zuhr and Asr, delaying Zuhr until the first time of Asr.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم جمع في السفر بين الظهر والعصر أخّر الظهر إلى أول وقت العصرThen the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined Maghrib and 'Isha, delaying Maghrib until the first time of 'Isha.
ثم صلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المغرب والعشاء جمعًا، أخر المغرب إلى أول صلاة العشاءAs for the third combining, which is called the formal combining, we can say that it is formal, having no reality or existence except in the minds of some who interpret some of the hadiths. The people furthest from these hadiths are the Hanafis, who deny the legitimacy of the true combining in travel, except at 'Arafah and Muzdalifah only. They interpret all the hadiths that came with combining as an interpretation of the formal combining, meaning by this that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he combined in travel, would delay the first prayer, such as Zuhr with Asr, until before the time of Asr, or until the last time of Asr, so that he would hardly pray Zuhr before the time of Asr had entered, and so with Maghrib and 'Isha.
We do not find a clear, explicit true form for this formal combining in all the hadiths that came from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he combined between the prayers.