The Criterion for Combining Prayers When It Rains

Question:
May Allah reward you. He says, “O honorable Shaykh: There has been much talk about combining prayers when it rains. What is the criterion for that? May you be rewarded.”

Answer:
The criterion is combining Maghrib and ‘Isha’; because it is the time when people need rest and to stay in their homes, and it is also when the darkness of night sets in. It is not permissible to combine unless the rain wets the clothes. As for light rain that does not wet the clothes, this does not permit combining. Or if there is mud and clay on the ground between the worshippers and the mosque, and there is mud and clay that they wade through to the mosque, then combining is prescribed in this case. So the cause for combining is one of two things: rain that wets the clothes, or the mud and clay that people wade through to the mosque at night, whereby combining relieves them. There is a third cause mentioned by the jurists, which is: the severe cold wind on a dark night. Combining between the two evening prayers, Maghrib and ‘Isha’, is permissible in this case. As for the paved roads now, if the rain stops, there is no combining, because there is no mud or clay in the ground.