Combining prayers early during travel, when one is likely to arrive early to rest and sleep?
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The questioner : In some of my travels, O honorable Shaykh, I combine prayers early during the journey, with the strong likelihood that I will arrive early so that I can rest and sleep when I get there?
The Shaykh : The scholars say: As long as a person is traveling.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He may avail himself of the dispensations of travel until he reaches his town. If the time for the first prayer enters while he is still traveling and he wishes to combine the second prayer with it, there is no blame on him in doing so, because the reason for combining is present. However, it is better, if he knows he will reach the town before the time for the second prayer enters, not to combine, because there is no need for combining in this situation. The basis for the permissibility of combining is hardship, not travel itself.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not combine prayers except when his journey was difficult. He sometimes combined while stationary. Therefore, combining is permissible in a settled location if there is a need for it. This is based on the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) combined prayers in Madinah without fear or rain." They asked: What was his intention in doing that? He said: "He intended not to burden his Ummah."
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : This is evidence that the basis for the prescription of combining is the removal of hardship and difficulty.
Accordingly, whenever there is hardship and difficulty in not combining, combining is permissible. And whenever there is no hardship or difficulty in not combining, there is no combining.
By this, we understand what some imams do in hastening to combine prayers due to rain in a settled location. They combine at the slightest rain, even if there is no hardship and even if there is no difficulty in not combining. This is contrary to what the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) indicates. When Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: What was his intention in doing that? Referring to his combining of Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, while in a settled location, he said: "He intended not to burden his Ummah." He did not say: He intended to show that combining is permissible in all circumstances. Rather, he clarified that he intended the removal of hardship from the Ummah. This indicates that combining is not permissible except when there is hardship in not doing so. The point is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:[An-Nisa 4:103] meaning, specifying a time. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) clarified the times of the prayers, each prayer in its specified time. So the Fajr prayer is from the appearance of dawn until the sun rises. The Dhuhr prayer is from the sun passing its zenith until the shadow of every object becomes equal to its length. The Asr prayer is from that time until the sun turns yellow, which is the preferred time, and until the sun sets out of necessity.
The time for Maghrib is from the setting of the sun until the red twilight disappears. The time for Isha is from that time until the middle of the night. Thus, the Sunnah came with the specification of these times. Whoever prays a prayer before its time, his prayer is rejected. And whoever prays it after the time without an excuse, his prayer is rejected. This is based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):Sahih Muslim 1718b If it is clear that the prayer must be performed in its time specified by the Shari'ah, then it is not permissible to remove it from its time by combining it with what follows, or performing it before its time by attaching it to what precedes, except for a Shari'ah excuse that permits combining. The Shari'ah excuse is what Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) referred to in his statement: "He intended not to burden his Ummah." This is clear to anyone who reflects on it.
Therefore, I advise my brothers, the imams of mosques and others, not to hasten to combine the two prayers without a Shari'ah reason that permits such combining, because they expose themselves to the invalidation of the prayer and to punishment from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The last question in the listener's message, Abu Abdullah, says.
The Shaykh : The scholars say: As long as a person is traveling.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : He may avail himself of the dispensations of travel until he reaches his town. If the time for the first prayer enters while he is still traveling and he wishes to combine the second prayer with it, there is no blame on him in doing so, because the reason for combining is present. However, it is better, if he knows he will reach the town before the time for the second prayer enters, not to combine, because there is no need for combining in this situation. The basis for the permissibility of combining is hardship, not travel itself.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not combine prayers except when his journey was difficult. He sometimes combined while stationary. Therefore, combining is permissible in a settled location if there is a need for it. This is based on the statement of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) combined prayers in Madinah without fear or rain." They asked: What was his intention in doing that? He said: "He intended not to burden his Ummah."
The questioner : Praise be to Allah.
The Shaykh : This is evidence that the basis for the prescription of combining is the removal of hardship and difficulty.
Accordingly, whenever there is hardship and difficulty in not combining, combining is permissible. And whenever there is no hardship or difficulty in not combining, there is no combining.
By this, we understand what some imams do in hastening to combine prayers due to rain in a settled location. They combine at the slightest rain, even if there is no hardship and even if there is no difficulty in not combining. This is contrary to what the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) indicates. When Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: What was his intention in doing that? Referring to his combining of Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, while in a settled location, he said: "He intended not to burden his Ummah." He did not say: He intended to show that combining is permissible in all circumstances. Rather, he clarified that he intended the removal of hardship from the Ummah. This indicates that combining is not permissible except when there is hardship in not doing so. The point is that Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said:
Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.
إِنَّ الصَّلاةَ كَانَتْ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كِتَابًا مَوْقُوتًاThe time for Maghrib is from the setting of the sun until the red twilight disappears. The time for Isha is from that time until the middle of the night. Thus, the Sunnah came with the specification of these times. Whoever prays a prayer before its time, his prayer is rejected. And whoever prays it after the time without an excuse, his prayer is rejected. This is based on the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
He who did any act for which there is no sanction from our behalf, that is to be rejected.
من عمل عملاً ليس عليه أمرنا فهو ردTherefore, I advise my brothers, the imams of mosques and others, not to hasten to combine the two prayers without a Shari'ah reason that permits such combining, because they expose themselves to the invalidation of the prayer and to punishment from Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. The last question in the listener's message, Abu Abdullah, says.