In the days when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was at Tabuk, did he combine the two prayers? We have found that the brothers, when they stay in a place while traveling, combine them.

The questioner : The brother says: Your Eminence,The Shaykh : Nasir al-Din (may Allah preserve him), in the days when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was at Tabuk, did he combine the two prayers? We have found that the brothers, when they stay in a place during travel, combine them. Are they correct?

The Shaykh : The question is clear, but it is lengthy without benefit, because the crux of the question is its final part. If one asked, "Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) combine when he was staying at Tabuk?" the answer would be, for example, "I do not know," as is the reality, because there is no report of it. Or, if we assume he did not combine, does that prevent combining in another incident? Of course, it does not prevent it. So why did you limit the question to combining in the Battle of Tabuk? It is reported in the Muwatta of Imam Malik and others that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was traveling, and perhaps I am saying now... perhaps that was during the journey to Tabuk. It does not concern us from a jurisprudential perspective whether the incident was in Tabuk or elsewhere; it was simply during travel. The narrator of the hadith, who is Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), said: Thus, combining is established for the traveler who is staying. As for one who is moving and walking, there is disagreement, but this hadith establishes the permissibility of combining even when the traveler is staying at a stage of his journey. After that, there should be no doubt about the permissibility of such combining.