What is the ruling on combining the two prayers while we are staying?

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Well, O Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good. We are a group of travelers, and the rulings on shortening the prayer during travel have passed us by, so we differed on an issue, which is combining the two prayers while we are staying here in the town, meaning we are not on the road.

The Shaykh : A temporary stay, and in the terminology of jurisprudence, you are staying (nasilun).

The questioner : We are staying, so what is the ruling on combining the two prayers while we are staying?

The Shaykh : This issue, well, there is a slight difference of opinion among some of the scholars, and Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) elaborated on it in his valuable book, "Zad al-Ma'ad fi Hady Khayr al-'Ibad." He holds that the established Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he did not combine except when the journey was urgent, but if he stayed, he did not combine. As for me personally, I have been convinced for a long time, and a very long time at that, that combining is permissible for the traveler, even if he is staying and not traveling or in a hurry in his journey. This is based on two pieces of evidence, one being an explicit text and the other being a stronger analogy. As for the text, it is the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), which was narrated by a group of the Imams of the Sunnah, at the head of whom, and foremost among them, and highest in rank, is Malik ibn Anas, the Imam of the City of Migration. He narrated in his "Muwatta," as did others who came after him with a sound chain, from Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him). The hadith of Mu'adh: Imam Malik and others, as we mentioned, narrated from him that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) returned from the expedition of Tabuk, he stayed at a camp. When the time for the midday prayer arrived, he went out and ordered the call to prayer and the second call, so he prayed the midday and afternoon prayers, then went in. Then when the time for the sunset prayer arrived, he ordered the call to prayer, so it was called, and the second call, so it was made, and then he prayed the sunset and night prayers. So this was a place where he went out and came in. This is an explicit text regarding the permissibility of combining for the traveler who is staying and not traveling. This is the text. As for the stronger analogy, it is what is contained in the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in Madinah without travel or rain, between the midday and afternoon, and between the sunset and night. They said, 'What did he intend by that, O Abu 'Abbas?' He said, 'He intended not to burden his Ummah.'" So if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined in a state of continuous residence, not the temporary stay that we referred to by the legal term "staying" for the traveler, then if the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) combined in a state of continuous residence, it is even more so that combining is permissible for the temporary stay, meaning for the traveler who is staying and continuing his journey to his town or to the town he is heading to. So I think the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas also, well, clarified the aspect of using it as evidence. So based on this, the matter is easy, and praise be to Allah. Well, anyone else, our brothers?

The questioner : O Shaykh, there is a question, but the issue mentioned by the brother in the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, "He intended not to burden his Ummah," I think Imam al-Shafi'i mentioned that it was illness, so I do not know the interpretation that you consider correct, meaning the reason for the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) combining in Madinah.

The Shaykh : In this hadith? There is no mention of illness.

The questioner : Yes, there is no mention of illness in the hadith, but it was mentioned that al-Shafi'i, when he said what he said about illness, it appears that the first interpretation of not burdening the Ummah is by illness. So what is the interpretation in your view of this hadith?

The Shaykh : The hadith is explained; it said "without travel or rain," and in a narration, "without fear or rain."

The questioner : Imam al-Shafi'i combined the excuses and said that they are four: travel, fear, rain, and illness. He said that the two narrations of the hadith mentioned only three excuses, so it is directed to the fourth excuse that was not mentioned, which is illness. This is the explanation mentioned by Imam al-Shafi'i.

The Shaykh : This cannot be imagined if he combined for himself due to illness, and the others? Is this understood?

The questioner : It is understood, O Shaykh.