Ruling on combining prayers for a traveler who stops during the journey

Question:
What is the ruling on combining prayers while traveling if one stops on the road before the midday prayer, then sits to rest and prepare lunch, and then resumes the journey one hour before the afternoon prayer? Is it permissible to combine them or not?

Answer:
Combining prayers while traveling is permissible, and it is a dispensation. If one is on the move, it is a recommended practice, due to the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). If one stops before the midday prayer and intends to depart after the midday prayer, he combines them by advancing the afternoon prayer with the midday prayer, prays them, and then departs. If he intends to combine them by delaying, by departing before the sun reaches its zenith or before the sun sets, he delays the midday prayer with the afternoon prayer, or the sunset prayer with the night prayer. Because he departed before the sun sets, he does not stop, and it is not obligatory for him to stop; rather, he delays the sunset prayer with the night prayer, stops at the time of the night prayer, and prays them all together. Or, if he departed before the midday prayer and continued traveling, he delays the midday prayer with the afternoon prayer until he combines them by delaying. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did in his travels.