The reason that led Imam al-Shawkani to lean toward apparent combination rather than real combination.

Al-Halabi : Something has occurred to me regarding a report about Imam al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) that he lived in a Zaydi and Shi'ah environment, and they exaggerated in combining [prayers]. He was, so to speak, confronting them and opposing them. So perhaps it was for this reason that he specialized in jurisprudence.

The Shaykh : This is possible.
The Shaykh: He stated this explicitly.

The Shaykh : In *al-Sayl al-Jarrar*?
The Shaykh: Yes, he criticized the people of his time for their expansion [in the ruling].