He said: I was traveling from Riyadh to a distant town and I was shortening the prayer. One day I decided to travel to a town near it. Is it permissible for me to combine?
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The questioner : I was traveling from Riyadh to a distant town and I was shortening the prayer. One day I decided to travel to a town near it. Is it permissible for me to combine Maghrib and 'Isha' by combining them early or late? And if it is permissible, which is better?
The Shaykh : It is permissible for you to shorten the prayer as long as you have not returned to your home town.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is also permissible for you to combine the prayers, because combining is a dispensation for travel, while shortening is part of the default ruling and the strongly recommended practice of travel. Some scholars have even said that it is an obligatory part of travel and that the traveler must shorten the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if you are in a town, it is obligatory for you to attend the congregation if you hear the call to prayer, due to the generality of the evidence that obligates anyone who hears the call to attend. And if you attend and pray with the resident imam, it is obligatory for you to complete the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for combining, it is permissible for you to combine as long as you are on your journey, as we have mentioned. However, the best course regarding combining is that the traveler should not combine unless he needs to, such as if his journey becomes urgent and he wishes to continue his travel. In that case, he combines at the time of the first prayer or delays it to the time of the second prayer, whichever is more convenient and easier for his journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, if you intend to move from the town you traveled to from Riyadh to another nearby town, and you wish to continue your journey between the two towns, there is no blame on you for combining early in the town before you set out for the second town.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is also permissible for you to delay and combine late until you reach the second town, provided you reach it before the time of the second prayer expires. Otherwise, you combine it during your journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that it is permissible for the traveler to combine, but leaving it is better, unless combining is more convenient for him. In that case, it becomes prescribed and recommended. The best for you is to combine early or late, whichever is easier for your journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is permissible for you to shorten the prayer as long as you have not returned to your home town.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is also permissible for you to combine the prayers, because combining is a dispensation for travel, while shortening is part of the default ruling and the strongly recommended practice of travel. Some scholars have even said that it is an obligatory part of travel and that the traveler must shorten the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : However, if you are in a town, it is obligatory for you to attend the congregation if you hear the call to prayer, due to the generality of the evidence that obligates anyone who hears the call to attend. And if you attend and pray with the resident imam, it is obligatory for you to complete the prayer.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : As for combining, it is permissible for you to combine as long as you are on your journey, as we have mentioned. However, the best course regarding combining is that the traveler should not combine unless he needs to, such as if his journey becomes urgent and he wishes to continue his travel. In that case, he combines at the time of the first prayer or delays it to the time of the second prayer, whichever is more convenient and easier for his journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Accordingly, if you intend to move from the town you traveled to from Riyadh to another nearby town, and you wish to continue your journey between the two towns, there is no blame on you for combining early in the town before you set out for the second town.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : It is also permissible for you to delay and combine late until you reach the second town, provided you reach it before the time of the second prayer expires. Otherwise, you combine it during your journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The important point is that it is permissible for the traveler to combine, but leaving it is better, unless combining is more convenient for him. In that case, it becomes prescribed and recommended. The best for you is to combine early or late, whichever is easier for your journey.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.