Is combining prayers in the city established, whether it is raining or not?
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The questioner : Regarding combining prayers in the rain and severe cold... is there rain in which combining is done?
The Shaykh : ... The well-known hadith of Ibn Abbas in Sahih Muslim: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and the Maghrib and Isha' prayers, in the city, out of neither fear nor rain. They asked, 'What did he intend by that?' He said, 'I intended to make things easy for my Ummah.'" The meaning of this hadith is that combining prayers for rain was well known among them, just as combining for fear was well known, as well as shortening the prayer due to fear. In addition to this, there is a recommended practice (sunnah) that is abandoned today: when there is rain, the mu'adhdhin says, either instead of "Hayya 'ala al-salah, hayya 'ala al-falah" or along with it, "As-salah fi al-rihal" (Pray in your homes). The meaning of this is that in the case of falling rain, the obligation of congregational prayer is lifted. Therefore, combining is prescribed in the presence of rain so that the reward of congregation in the following prayer is not lost for people, because it is not guaranteed that the rain will stop so that they can assume they will not combine, and in the following prayer, such as Asr or Isha', they will come down to pray in congregation as usual. The prescription of the mu'adhdhin saying "Pray in your homes" means granting a dispensation (rukhsah) to people, including those who did not have the opportunity to combine, so that if the time for the second prayer comes while it is raining, they do not have to come down to the mosque. This is a matter of dispensation. Combining is a dispensation, and praying at home during rain is a dispensation; without this, it would not be permissible to be absent.
Another questioner: There are degrees of dispensation for easing matters...
The Shaykh : We do not have this precise definition that you are asking about, except for his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying:Sahih Ibn Hibban 6:48 in the other hadith: Bulugh al-Maram 2:341 So the meaning of this is that it is better for the Muslim to maintain the dispensations and not to be arrogant toward them or distance himself from them. Yes.
Another questioner: You mean like the dispensation for the traveler or the sick person breaking his fast in Ramadan?
The Shaykh : Exactly like that? But for the traveler, shortening differs from combining. Combining is a dispensation for him, as we are saying now for the resident, whereas shortening is an obligation (fard), so it is not permissible for him to complete the prayer.
The Shaykh : ... The well-known hadith of Ibn Abbas in Sahih Muslim: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and the Maghrib and Isha' prayers, in the city, out of neither fear nor rain. They asked, 'What did he intend by that?' He said, 'I intended to make things easy for my Ummah.'" The meaning of this hadith is that combining prayers for rain was well known among them, just as combining for fear was well known, as well as shortening the prayer due to fear. In addition to this, there is a recommended practice (sunnah) that is abandoned today: when there is rain, the mu'adhdhin says, either instead of "Hayya 'ala al-salah, hayya 'ala al-falah" or along with it, "As-salah fi al-rihal" (Pray in your homes). The meaning of this is that in the case of falling rain, the obligation of congregational prayer is lifted. Therefore, combining is prescribed in the presence of rain so that the reward of congregation in the following prayer is not lost for people, because it is not guaranteed that the rain will stop so that they can assume they will not combine, and in the following prayer, such as Asr or Isha', they will come down to pray in congregation as usual. The prescription of the mu'adhdhin saying "Pray in your homes" means granting a dispensation (rukhsah) to people, including those who did not have the opportunity to combine, so that if the time for the second prayer comes while it is raining, they do not have to come down to the mosque. This is a matter of dispensation. Combining is a dispensation, and praying at home during rain is a dispensation; without this, it would not be permissible to be absent.
Another questioner: There are degrees of dispensation for easing matters...
The Shaykh : We do not have this precise definition that you are asking about, except for his (peace and blessings be upon him) saying:
Indeed, Allah loves that His dispensations be observed as He loves that His default rulings be observed.
إن الله يحب أن تؤتى رخصه كما يحب أن تؤتى عزائمهjust as he dislikes that disobedience to Him be committed
كما يكره أن تؤتى معصيتهAnother questioner: You mean like the dispensation for the traveler or the sick person breaking his fast in Ramadan?
The Shaykh : Exactly like that? But for the traveler, shortening differs from combining. Combining is a dispensation for him, as we are saying now for the resident, whereas shortening is an obligation (fard), so it is not permissible for him to complete the prayer.