What is the meaning of the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the prayers of Dhuhr and 'Asr without travel or rain, intending not to burden his Ummah?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : It is reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), according to Ibn 'Abbas: or what is the meaning of the hadith, please inform us, may Allah guide you?
The Shaykh : Yes, this hadith, as you mentioned, is in Sahih Muslim, and Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: meaning: so as not to burden them with hardship and difficulty.
Therefore, it is permissible for a person, whenever he is afflicted with hardship and difficulty in separating the prayers, to combine Dhuhr and 'Asr, and Maghrib and 'Isha, whether in travel or in residence. For this reason, we combine in days of rain, we combine in days of cold wind, and we combine in illness. The door of combining is wider than the door of shortening. Shortening has only one cause, which is travel. One who is not traveling does not shorten, even a person who is severely ill cannot shorten unless he is outside his city, like a person who went for treatment; then he shortens, even if he remains in treatment for years. But combining is wider; the cause of combining is need, and the cause of shortening is travel. For this reason, it is permissible for the woman with irregular bleeding (istihadah) who has continuous bleeding to combine, because it is difficult for her to perform wudu for every prayer while the blood is coming out.
It is also permissible for the nursing mother. The scholars said: even the nursing mother for whom it is difficult to purify her clothes for every prayer, it is permissible for her to combine. But this is what the scholars said for a time when people were in straitened circumstances, and the woman had only one garment, and it was difficult for her to wash it every time the boy urinated on it. But now, praise be to Allah, it is possible for the woman to have a special garment for prayer, and for her children to have a special garment. Yes.
May the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and Allah's mercy and blessings.
The questioner : It is reported in Sahih Muslim that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), according to Ibn 'Abbas:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) combined the prayer of Dhuhr and 'Asr, and Maghrib and 'Isha, without travel or rain. They asked Ibn 'Abbas in the hadith why he did that? He said: So that he would not be severe with his Ummah.
أن النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام جمع بين صلاة الظهر والعصر، والمغرب والعشاء، من غير سفر ولا مطر، قالوا سألوا ابن عباس في الحديث لما فعل ذلك؟ قال: لكي لا يشدد على أمتهThe Shaykh : Yes, this hadith, as you mentioned, is in Sahih Muslim, and Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked:
What was his intention in doing that? He said: He intended not to burden his Ummah.
ما أراد إلى ذلك ؟ قال: أراد ألا يحرج أمتهTherefore, it is permissible for a person, whenever he is afflicted with hardship and difficulty in separating the prayers, to combine Dhuhr and 'Asr, and Maghrib and 'Isha, whether in travel or in residence. For this reason, we combine in days of rain, we combine in days of cold wind, and we combine in illness. The door of combining is wider than the door of shortening. Shortening has only one cause, which is travel. One who is not traveling does not shorten, even a person who is severely ill cannot shorten unless he is outside his city, like a person who went for treatment; then he shortens, even if he remains in treatment for years. But combining is wider; the cause of combining is need, and the cause of shortening is travel. For this reason, it is permissible for the woman with irregular bleeding (istihadah) who has continuous bleeding to combine, because it is difficult for her to perform wudu for every prayer while the blood is coming out.
It is also permissible for the nursing mother. The scholars said: even the nursing mother for whom it is difficult to purify her clothes for every prayer, it is permissible for her to combine. But this is what the scholars said for a time when people were in straitened circumstances, and the woman had only one garment, and it was difficult for her to wash it every time the boy urinated on it. But now, praise be to Allah, it is possible for the woman to have a special garment for prayer, and for her children to have a special garment. Yes.