A man travels two hundred kilometers daily; is it permissible for him to combine prayers due to hardship?
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The questioner : May Allah forgive your sins and admit us and you to Paradise.
The Shaykh : Amen. May Allah reward you with good. Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible for a man who works in a village approximately two hundred kilometers away, which he visits daily, to combine the midday and afternoon prayers if he is unable to pray, meaning he becomes exhausted if he tries to wake up from sleep for the afternoon prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is nothing wrong with it. This person is asking, saying that he works in a village far from his hometown and that he arrives tired after the midday prayer, and he fears that he will not be able to get up for the afternoon prayer, or that it will be a great hardship for him. So, may he combine the afternoon prayer with the midday prayer and sleep until the sunset prayer? The answer is: Yes, he may do so, because combining is broader than shortening. Shortening has only one cause, which is travel. As for combining, its cause is limited but not counted; it is hardship. Whenever hardship exists, combine. In fact, combining is permissible for less than this. If you fear that you will miss the congregation, combine. This is why people combine in the town on rainy days. Why?
The questioner : Hardship.
The Shaykh : What hardship? Because if he did not combine, he would miss the congregation. And if people, for example, had finished the sunset prayer, they would be told to pray in your homes, because it is raining. So, for the sake of attaining the congregation, combining is permissible. Do you understand? So, combining is permissible for hardship or for a benefit related to the prayer. As for the issue of travel, I do not see this as travel, because no one considers it travel. Yes.
The Shaykh : Amen. May Allah reward you with good. Yes.
The questioner : Is it permissible for a man who works in a village approximately two hundred kilometers away, which he visits daily, to combine the midday and afternoon prayers if he is unable to pray, meaning he becomes exhausted if he tries to wake up from sleep for the afternoon prayer?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is nothing wrong with it. This person is asking, saying that he works in a village far from his hometown and that he arrives tired after the midday prayer, and he fears that he will not be able to get up for the afternoon prayer, or that it will be a great hardship for him. So, may he combine the afternoon prayer with the midday prayer and sleep until the sunset prayer? The answer is: Yes, he may do so, because combining is broader than shortening. Shortening has only one cause, which is travel. As for combining, its cause is limited but not counted; it is hardship. Whenever hardship exists, combine. In fact, combining is permissible for less than this. If you fear that you will miss the congregation, combine. This is why people combine in the town on rainy days. Why?
The questioner : Hardship.
The Shaykh : What hardship? Because if he did not combine, he would miss the congregation. And if people, for example, had finished the sunset prayer, they would be told to pray in your homes, because it is raining. So, for the sake of attaining the congregation, combining is permissible. Do you understand? So, combining is permissible for hardship or for a benefit related to the prayer. As for the issue of travel, I do not see this as travel, because no one considers it travel. Yes.