Shortening the prayer while travelling, and reports on combining two prayers

It is narrated from Asim bin Damrah that he said: "Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) prayed two rak'ahs of Asr while travelling, then he went into his tent and prayed two more rak'ahs while I was watching him."
The chain of this narration is jayyid (good), and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal recorded it in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "We prayed the travel prayer with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as two rak'ahs each, except the Maghrib prayer, which was three rak'ahs."
Likewise Muhammad bin Abi Umar, Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah and Ahmad bin Mani', all three of them, narrated it from Abu Mu'awiyah, and in their narration the words are: "Except Maghrib, for indeed he (peace and blessings be upon him) performed it as three rak'ahs."

It is narrated from the Mother of the Believers, Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), that she said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), while travelling, (sometimes) performed the prayer in full and (sometimes) also shortened it."
Imam Abu Ya'la reported through his chain, in this same narration, these additional words: "He (peace and blessings be upon him) would delay the Zuhr prayer and perform the Asr prayer early, and likewise he would delay the Maghrib prayer and perform the Isha prayer early (that is, promptly)."

A man narrates from Sayyiduna Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him): I came to him at the place called al-Baldah (which is the area of Mina), and it was said to him that Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) had led four rak'ahs (here, despite being a traveller). At this he said: "I prayed with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and all of them led only two rak'ahs (in Mina)." Then (even though his own scholarly position was two rak'ahs) he stood up and himself prayed four rak'ahs.
Imam Ahmad bin Mani' recorded this narration in his Musnad; its chain contains an unnamed (unknown) narrator. However, the account of Sayyiduna Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) completing the prayer in full, and of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) following him (for the sake of unity), is also reported in other reliable books of hadith.

It is narrated from al-Rabi' bin Nadlah that he said: We set out on a journey and we were twelve riders in all; all of them except me had been blessed with the company of the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: Then, when the time of prayer came, a man from the group stepped forward to lead and prayed four rak'ahs (instead of shortening). At this Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) said (expressing surprise): "What have we to do with these four-rak'ah prayers? Half of the four rak'ahs is enough for us, and we are more in need of (the legal) lightening and ease (during travel)."
Imam Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded this narration in al-Musannaf, and its chain is sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Huzayl bin Shurahbil that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was on a journey, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Zuhr prayer and performed the Asr prayer at the beginning of its time, combining the two; likewise he (peace and blessings be upon him) delayed the Maghrib prayer and performed the Isha prayer early, combining these two as well.
Imam Shu'bah did not mention the words "from Abdullah" (from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud) in his chain, while it is reported that Ibn Abi Layla narrated it as connected from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him).
It is reported from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to combine two prayers while travelling."

It is narrated from Hafs bin Ghiyath that he said: "I saw Sayyiduna al-Nu'man bin Bashir (may Allah be pleased with him); he performed the Maghrib and Isha prayers together (combining them)."
The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and Imam Ishaq bin Rahwayh recorded it in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Bakr bin Abdullah al-Muzani that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sent this letter to Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him): "Combining two prayers together without any (legitimate) excuse is one of the major sins."
This narration is mawquf, and there is a break (inqita') in the chain between Bakr bin Abdullah and Sayyiduna Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him).

It is narrated from Ishaq that he said: I asked Abu Usamah: Did Sa'd bin Sa'id al-Ansari narrate this hadith to you, that he heard Sayyiduna al-Sa'ib bin Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) say: "The Zuhr and Asr prayers were (originally) made obligatory as two rak'ahs each, so the people used to pray two rak'ahs after Zuhr and two rak'ahs after Asr. Then four rak'ahs of Zuhr and four of Asr were made obligatory upon them, so when these four rak'ahs were made obligatory, they stopped praying those (earlier extra rak'ahs); and the travel prayer was kept (in its original form, that is, two rak'ahs), while the prayer of the resident, that is, when one is at home, was fixed at four rak'ahs?" At this Abu Usamah affirmed it and said: "Yes (it is exactly so)."
This hadith is hasan (good).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he said: "Whoever prays four rak'ahs while travelling (instead of shortening) is (in ruling and reward) like the one who prays only two rak'ahs while resident (instead of the full prayer)."
This narration is mawquf and da'if (weak).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him): "Indeed, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) went out of Madinah (for a journey) and had covered the distance of one farsakh (about five and a half kilometres), he (peace and blessings be upon him) would shorten the prayer."
Imam Abu Bakr and Imam Ahmad bin Mani' also reported this same narration with their chains through Abu Harun. Likewise Imam Abd bin Humayd narrated it from Ali bin Asim, from Abu Harun, in these words: We set out (on a journey) with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and "when he (peace and blessings be upon him) had gone beyond the distance of one farsakh, he would shorten the prayer."
The narrator Abu Harun al-Abdi in the chain of this narration is da'if (weak).

Muwarriq al-Ijli narrates from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that he was asked about the prayer during travel, and he said: "The travel prayer is two rak'ahs, only two rak'ahs; and whoever opposes the Prophetic Sunnah has committed disbelief."
Its chain is sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sawwar bin Shabib asked him about performing the prayer during travel, and he said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "(The prayer while travelling is) two rak'ahs, two rak'ahs, except the Maghrib prayer (which remains in its original form, that is, three rak'ahs, even while travelling)."
Imam Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi recorded this hadith in his Musnad and its chain is jayyid (good), while the basis for shortening the four-rak'ah prayers to two rak'ahs during travel is also established by narrations of Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both): "He used to go to the place called al-Ghabah (located near Madinah), and (during that journey) he would neither break his fast nor shorten the prayer."
The chain of this narration is sahih (authentic), and Imam Musaddad recorded it in his Musnad.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man asked him: "Should I shorten the prayer (on the short journey) to Arafah?" He replied: "Do not shorten the prayer unless the journey equals the distance of a full day's travel."
The chain of this report is jayyid (good), and it is a reliable juristic proof regarding fixing the distance for shortening the prayer.

It is narrated from Abu Ma'bad (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: We were with Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) on a journey. When the sun set, it was said to him: "O Abu al-Abbas! The prayer (its time has come)?" He said: "We are a travelling people (and we have the concession to combine prayers on a journey)." Then he kept travelling until he reached Marr al-Zahran and halted there; and between the place where he had been told about the prayer at sunset and where he finally halted, there was a distance of two farsakhs (about eleven kilometres).
The chain of this hadith is sahih (authentic), and Imam al-Nasa'i recorded it in al-Sunan al-Kubra (hadith: 604).