Ruling on Combining Prayers for a Resident

Q: What is the ruling of Allah and His Messenger regarding a group of people who constantly combine the Dhuhr and Asr prayers, and the Maghrib and Isha prayers, while they are residents?

A: The authentic hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), in his words and deeds, indicate that it is obligatory to perform the five prayers in their five times, and that it is not permissible to combine Dhuhr with Asr, or Maghrib with Isha, except for an excuse such as illness, travel, rain, or similar matters that make it difficult to come to the mosques for each of the four mentioned prayers at its time. Jibril (peace be upon him) timed the prayers for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in their five times; he led him in prayer at the beginning and end of each time over two days. Then, after he had led him in Dhuhr in its two times and Asr in its two times, he said to him (peace and blessings be upon him): "Prayer is between these two times." Likewise, when he had led him in Maghrib in its two times and Isha in its two times, he said: "Prayer is between these two times."
It is established from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that he was asked about this, so he answered the questioner by action: he prayed the five prayers on the first day after the question at the beginning of their times, and he prayed the five prayers on the second day at the end of their times, then he said: .
As for what is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed eight [rak'ahs] together and seven [rak'ahs] together, and it came in a narration of Muslim in his Sahih that this refers to: Dhuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha. He said in his narration: And in another wording: .
So the answer is to say: Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) was asked about that, and he said: "So that he would not cause hardship for his Ummah." The scholars of knowledge said: The meaning of that is so that he would not put them in hardship.
This is understood to mean that he (peace and blessings be upon him) combined Dhuhr with Asr, and Maghrib with Isha, in Madinah for a reason that necessitated removing hardship and difficulty from the Companions on that day, whether it was a general illness, or rain, or something else from the excuses that cause hardship for the Companions on that day. Some of them said that it was a formal combination, meaning that he delayed Dhuhr to the end of its time, and brought Asr forward to the beginning of its time, and delayed Maghrib to the end of its time, and brought Isha forward to the beginning of its time.
Al-Nasa'i narrated that from Ibn Abbas, the narrator of the hadith, as Al-Shawkani said in (Al-Nayl). It is possible, and Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) did not mention in this hadith that this action was repeated by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); rather, its apparent meaning is that it only occurred from him once. Imam Abu Isa Al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, in the meaning of his words: "There is no hadith in his book—meaning the Jami'—on which the scholars agreed to leave acting upon it, except this hadith, and another hadith regarding the killing of the one who drinks intoxicants for the fourth time." His intention is that the scholars agreed that it is not permissible to combine except for a legal excuse.
And they agreed that the combining of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in this hadith is understood to have occurred for an excuse, reconciling it with the many authentic hadiths indicating that he (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray every prayer in its time and did not combine two prayers except for an excuse. Likewise, his Rightly Guided Caliphs and all his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the scholars after them followed this path and prohibited combining except for one with an excuse, except for a group about whom the author of Al-Nayl reported the permissibility of combining if it is not made a habit or custom. This is a rejected opinion due to the previous evidence and the consensus of those before them.
And by this, the questioner knows that this hadith contains nothing that contradicts the authentic, explicit hadiths indicating the prohibition of combining the two prayers without a valid legal excuse. Rather, it is understood in accordance with them and not in contradiction to them; for the verbal and practical Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) corroborates one another, explains one another, and the absolute in them is restricted by the qualified, and the general by the specific. Likewise, the clear Book of Allah corroborates one part of it with another and explains one part of it with another. Allah the Exalted said: [Hud:1] And He (peace be upon him) said: the verse [Al-Zumar:23].
And the meaning is that despite its precision and detail, it resembles one part of it with another and corroborates one part of it with another. Likewise, the Sunnah of his Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is exactly the same, as mentioned before. And Allah is the guarantor of success.