Ruling on combining two prayers due to cold
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the Pious, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
To proceed: This is the first session of the month of Rajab, the seventh day of it, in the year (1413 AH). We ask Allah the Exalted to make it a beneficial session. This day, and the two or three days before it, have been very cold, intensely cold. This is good for people and plants, for some of the diseases and microbes are not killed except by intense cold, just as some are not killed except by intense heat. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has wisdom in what He decrees for His creation and in what He legislates for them. Just as He (Mighty and Majestic) is Wise in His legislation, He is likewise Wise in His decree. And among the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is that there is no contradiction between divine decree and destiny and the Shari'ah. So whenever the decree and destiny become severe, the Shari'ah lightens what corresponds to that severity.
And among the examples of that: It is that when the cold becomes severe with a wind that harms people, it is permissible for a person to combine the midday and afternoon prayers, and the sunset and night prayers, based on what is established in Sahih Muslim from 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) (that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in Madinah without fear or rain,They said to Ibn 'Abbas: What did he intend by that?He said: He intended not to burden his Ummah). And this indicates that the wisdom behind the prescription of combining is to remove hardship from the Muslims; otherwise, combining is not permissible.
And the hardship in cold only occurs when it is accompanied by air and a cold wind. But if it is not accompanied by air, a person protects himself from the cold by wearing many clothes and is not harmed by it.So if we were asked by a questioner: Is combining permissible merely due to the intensity of the cold?We would say: It is not permissible except on the condition that it is accompanied by a cold wind that harms people, or if it is accompanied by the falling of snow. For if snow is falling, it certainly causes harm. In that case, combining is permissible. But mere cold is not an excuse that permits combining. So whoever combines two prayers without a Shari'ah excuse is sinful, and the prayer he combined with the one before it is not valid, and it is not counted. Rather, he must repeat it.
And if it was a combination by delaying, his first prayer was not in its time, and he is sinful for that.
I wanted to point out this issue because some people told me that they combined two nights ago because of the cold, without there being any wind that harms people. And this is not permissible for them.
To proceed: This is the first session of the month of Rajab, the seventh day of it, in the year (1413 AH). We ask Allah the Exalted to make it a beneficial session. This day, and the two or three days before it, have been very cold, intensely cold. This is good for people and plants, for some of the diseases and microbes are not killed except by intense cold, just as some are not killed except by intense heat. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) has wisdom in what He decrees for His creation and in what He legislates for them. Just as He (Mighty and Majestic) is Wise in His legislation, He is likewise Wise in His decree. And among the mercy of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) is that there is no contradiction between divine decree and destiny and the Shari'ah. So whenever the decree and destiny become severe, the Shari'ah lightens what corresponds to that severity.
And among the examples of that: It is that when the cold becomes severe with a wind that harms people, it is permissible for a person to combine the midday and afternoon prayers, and the sunset and night prayers, based on what is established in Sahih Muslim from 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) (that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in Madinah without fear or rain,They said to Ibn 'Abbas: What did he intend by that?He said: He intended not to burden his Ummah). And this indicates that the wisdom behind the prescription of combining is to remove hardship from the Muslims; otherwise, combining is not permissible.
And the hardship in cold only occurs when it is accompanied by air and a cold wind. But if it is not accompanied by air, a person protects himself from the cold by wearing many clothes and is not harmed by it.So if we were asked by a questioner: Is combining permissible merely due to the intensity of the cold?We would say: It is not permissible except on the condition that it is accompanied by a cold wind that harms people, or if it is accompanied by the falling of snow. For if snow is falling, it certainly causes harm. In that case, combining is permissible. But mere cold is not an excuse that permits combining. So whoever combines two prayers without a Shari'ah excuse is sinful, and the prayer he combined with the one before it is not valid, and it is not counted. Rather, he must repeat it.
And if it was a combination by delaying, his first prayer was not in its time, and he is sinful for that.
I wanted to point out this issue because some people told me that they combined two nights ago because of the cold, without there being any wind that harms people. And this is not permissible for them.