Question:
Is it permissible to combine two prayers in the case of rain?
Answer:
It is permissible to combine two prayers and offer them together in the case of rain.
❀ Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 311 AH) says:
لم يختلف علماء الحجاز أن الجمع بين الصلاتين فى المطر جائز
“The scholars of the Hijaz are unanimous that combining two prayers in rain is permissible.”
❀ Sa’id ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) says that Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) related:
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ combined Zuhr and Asr, and Maghrib and Isha, in Madinah without any fear and without rain (in one narration, without any fear or journey). (Sa’id ibn Jubayr said:) I asked Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), ‘Why did he do that?’ He said: ‘So that his ummah would not be burdened.'”
❀ Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates:
صليت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالمدينة ثمانيا جميعا، وسبعا جميعا؛ الظهر والعصر، والمغرب والعشاء
“In Madinah, I prayed behind the Messenger of Allah ﷺ eight rak’ahs of Zuhr and Asr combined, and seven rak’ahs of Maghrib and Isha combined.”
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 728 AH) says:
“The two prayers that Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned as being combined were neither due to fear nor due to rain. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) derived from this hadith that, with fear and rain, prayers would be combined all the more so. The above discussion shows that combining prayers in these matters is permissible all the more. This is of the nature of alerting through an action. When two prayers may be combined to remove hardship arising without fear, rain or travel, then removing the hardship of these causes is all the more permissible; therefore, combining prayers on account of fear, rain and travel is more deserving than combining them on account of other matters.”
❀ Nafi’, the freed slave of Ibn Umar (may Allah have mercy on him), narrates:
“When it was a rainy night, our leaders would delay Maghrib and combine it with Isha before the redness (shafaq) disappeared. Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) would also pray with them and would not consider it a problem.” Ubaydullah narrates: “I saw Qasim and Salim rahimahumallah combining Maghrib and Isha with the leaders on such a night.”
❀ Hisham ibn Urwah, a tabi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), narrates:
“I saw Aban ibn Uthman (may Allah have mercy on him) combining the Maghrib and Isha prayers on a rainy night. Urwah ibn Zubayr, Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab, Abu Bakr ibn Abd al-Rahman and Abu Salamah ibn Abd al-Rahman (may Allah have mercy on them) did not object to it.”
❀ Abd al-Rahman ibn Harmalah (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“I have seen Sa’id ibn al-Musayyab (may Allah have mercy on him) praying Maghrib and Isha combined with the leaders on a rainy night.”
❀ Abu Mawdud Abd al-Aziz ibn Abu Sulayman (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
“I prayed Maghrib and Isha with Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad (may Allah have mercy on him), and he had combined the two prayers on a rainy night.”
❀ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (d. 728 AH) says:
هذه الآثار تدل على أن الجمع للمطر من الأمر القديم، المعمول به بالمدينة زمن الصحابة والتابعين، مع أنه لم ينقل أن أحدا من الصحابة والتابعين أنكر ذلك، فعلم أنه منقول عندهم بالتواتر جواز ذلك
“These narrations show that combining two prayers due to rain is a matter that has been in practice since the beginning. It was also acted upon in Madinah during the era of the Companions and the Successors. Along with this, no objection from any single Companion is reported regarding it. From this it is established that the permissibility of this was transmitted from the Companions and Successors through tawatur.”
❀ Maulana Abdul Shakoor Lucknawi Farooqi writes:
“According to Imam Shafi’i (may Allah have mercy on him), it is permissible to pray two prayers at one time both while travelling and in rain, and the apparent meaning of the hadiths also indicates this. Therefore, if a Hanafi also does this out of necessity, it is permissible.”
It should be remembered that in the case of rain, combining both early (taqdim) and delayed (ta’khir) is permissible. Taqdim is easier. Moreover, jam’ suwari (apparent combining) may also be adopted.
