The Ruling on the Order of the Two Prayers in Combining by Delay
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His Eminence the Shaykh: If a person is traveling and finds a congregation praying 'Isha, does he pray 'Isha with them and then pray Maghrib afterwards?
The correct view is that he prays Maghrib with them, entering with the intention of Maghrib even if they are praying 'Isha. If he joins them in the first rak'ah, when the imam stands for the fourth rak'ah, he sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the taslim.
Praying alone here is permissible due to the excuse; because it is not possible for him to stand for the fourth rak'ah while he is in the Maghrib prayer. He should say the taslim and then join the imam in what remains of the 'Isha' prayer. If he joined the imam in the second rak'ah, he says the taslim with the imam. If he joined in the third rak'ah, he performs one rak'ah after the imam's taslim. This is the strongest opinion in this issue.
And some scholars said: He joins them with the intention of 'Isha', and when he finishes, he prays Maghrib. This results in the order being lost.
And some scholars said: Rather, he prays Maghrib alone, then joins them in what remains of the 'Isha' prayer. This results in the presence of two congregations in one mosque, if this man is with others and they pray as a congregation, or if a person separates from the Muslim congregation. All of this is not desirable in the Shari'ah. So the best opinion in this issue is what I mentioned first.
This issue does not occur only for travelers, but also for residents in combining due to rain. A person might come, for example, during combining due to rain while they are praying 'Isha' and he has not prayed Maghrib, so we tell him: Join them with the intention of Maghrib and act as previously mentioned.
The correct view is that he prays Maghrib with them, entering with the intention of Maghrib even if they are praying 'Isha. If he joins them in the first rak'ah, when the imam stands for the fourth rak'ah, he sits, recites the tashahhud, and says the taslim.
Praying alone here is permissible due to the excuse; because it is not possible for him to stand for the fourth rak'ah while he is in the Maghrib prayer. He should say the taslim and then join the imam in what remains of the 'Isha' prayer. If he joined the imam in the second rak'ah, he says the taslim with the imam. If he joined in the third rak'ah, he performs one rak'ah after the imam's taslim. This is the strongest opinion in this issue.
And some scholars said: He joins them with the intention of 'Isha', and when he finishes, he prays Maghrib. This results in the order being lost.
And some scholars said: Rather, he prays Maghrib alone, then joins them in what remains of the 'Isha' prayer. This results in the presence of two congregations in one mosque, if this man is with others and they pray as a congregation, or if a person separates from the Muslim congregation. All of this is not desirable in the Shari'ah. So the best opinion in this issue is what I mentioned first.
This issue does not occur only for travelers, but also for residents in combining due to rain. A person might come, for example, during combining due to rain while they are praying 'Isha' and he has not prayed Maghrib, so we tell him: Join them with the intention of Maghrib and act as previously mentioned.