The Ruling on Combining Prayers

Question:
He says: In some mosques, they combine the Dhuhr and Asr prayers in the time of the Dhuhr prayer, and they claim that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) combined them for forty days in Madinah to make things easier for his Ummah. We ask for guidance in this matter. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Yes, it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): But this was not recorded from him (peace and blessings be upon him) except once, not forty times. So the claim that he did it forty times is false and has no basis in truth. What is preserved is that he did this once. Some scholars said: Perhaps it was due to the mud in the markets from the effects of rain, or the presence of a general illness, or a general epidemic, or for other reasons. Ibn Abbas said: "So that he would not cause hardship for his Ummah," meaning: to remove the difficulty from them. So if something that causes them hardship occurs, such as illness, mud, or the effects of rain in the markets, or something similar that involves hardship; then this combining is permissible. As for doing it without an excuse; the obligatory thing is not to do it; because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) set the times for the people in Madinah, and Jibril set the times for him in Makkah (peace and blessings be upon him). And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And he used to pray Dhuhr in its time, and Asr in its time, and Maghrib in its time, and Isha in its time. This is what is preserved from him in Madinah, (peace and blessings be upon him).
So it is obligatory upon the Muslims to pray every prayer in its time, and not to combine except for a Shari'ah excuse. And this one time that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did it is understood to have been for a Shari'ah excuse, intending to remove hardship from his Ummah (peace and blessings be upon him) because of that excuse which was not mentioned in the hadith.
And it is obligatory upon the Ummah to take hold of the clear and decisive matters, and to leave the doubtful matters. Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) says in His great Book: [Al Imran: 7] So it is not permissible for the believer to take hold of the ambiguous matters that have no clarity, and leave the clear, decisive, and evident matter, which is praying every prayer in its time in his (peace and blessings be upon him) life in Madinah for a period of ten years (peace and blessings be upon him). And he clarified that for the Ummah and said: And he said: .
So it is not permissible for us to take hold of something whose cause has not been clarified, which contradicts the authentic hadiths and the continuous practice in his (peace and blessings be upon him) life. Rather, this is following the ambiguous matters, which is not permissible for the people of faith. So if there is a cause that justifies combining; then there is no harm, such as illness, rain, and travel, and the like; so there is no harm in that, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did in his travels. And he granted a dispensation for the woman with irregular bleeding to combine for her excuse, and the sick person is likewise excused, so there is no harm in that for a Shari'ah excuse. Yes.

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.