Is it permissible for a resident to combine the two prayers—Zuhr and 'Asr—without an excuse such as rain or travel?

The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. As for what follows:
A hadith was reported in "Sahih al-Bukhari" from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), narrated by 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed in a settled state, combining 'Asr with Zuhr and 'Asr. Is it permissible for a Muslim to pray two prayers without an excuse? 'A'ishah says there was no travel. Is it permissible for a person residing in his land to combine Zuhr with 'Asr without an excuse? Please inform us—may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : The question is understood, but it contains an error that must be corrected. That is that Lady 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) has no hadith whatsoever in this meaning. Likewise, there is no hadith in "Sahih al-Bukhari" with this meaning, even if it were from someone other than 'A'ishah. Rather, you are referring to the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, which Imam Muslim included in his "Sahih" from Ibn 'Abbas, who said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) combined Zuhr and 'Asr, and Maghrib and 'Isha, in Madinah, without travel or rain." They asked: "What did he intend by that, O Abu 'Abbas?"—which is the kunyah of 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas—"What did he intend by that?" He said: "He intended not to cause hardship upon his Ummah." The apparent meaning of the hadith is that it is permissible to combine the two prayers in a state of residence, and without the excuse of rain; because rain is a legal excuse that permits combining the two prayers. Here, Ibn 'Abbas says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) combined while a resident, and combined without the excuse of rain. He emphasized this when the aforementioned question was directed to him: Why did he do that? He said: "He intended not to cause hardship upon his Ummah." This is the hadith, found in "Sahih Muslim" and not in al-Bukhari. In al-Bukhari, there is the meaning of this hadith: "He combined the prayers in Madinah, eight [rak'ahs]," but it does not contain this detail that Imam Muslim mentioned or narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, nor does it contain this important point which was the answer to that question, namely his saying (may Allah be pleased with him): "He intended not to cause hardship upon his Ummah." Some scholars, both past and present, hold that this combining for residence without an excuse is permissible. I do not see that as correct. That is because the narrator of the hadith attributes the combining of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) without an excuse to another excuse, in the context of legislation and clarification for the people. Ibn 'Abbas said: "He intended not to cause hardship upon his Ummah" (peace and blessings be upon him). This means that the ruling on combining in a state of residence is conditioned by the presence of hardship in not combining. So where there is hardship in performing the prayers at their known times, combining is permissible to remove the hardship that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) negated, as in His saying: Combining is permissible. However, if there is no hardship, then it is obligatory to maintain the performance of the five prayers, each prayer in its time, because there is no hardship.
For example, I am sitting here, and I hear the adhan there in the mosque near me, and I am able to go out, and there is no hardship on me in going out, so it is not permissible for me to combine. On the contrary, when I came on this trip, I found this elevator out of order, and it is very difficult for me—as you see—due to pain in my knees to go down or up by way of a staircase. So some prayers passed and I did not go out to the mosque. But when the elevator was repaired and it saved me the difficulty of going up and down, it became obligatory for me to pray every prayer in the mosque, because I do not find that hardship which I found when I first arrived here. So combining is only permissible to remove hardship. Where there is no hardship, there is no combining. They are two interrelated matters: no hardship, no combining; with hardship, there is combining. This is the best that can be said in reconciling this authentic hadith with the hadiths that explicitly state that each prayer has its time, and that it is not permissible to be distracted from them, especially since combining necessitates, in most cases, turning away from the prayer with the congregation, as I described my initial situation to you.
This is the answer to what you asked.