Nasai

(1) The negation by Ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu is with regard to general circumstances; otherwise, everyone knows that combining prayers during travel is decisively established from authentic ahadith. Similarly, during Hajj, performing the ‘Asr prayer on the Day of ‘Arafah together with Zuhr is an agreed-upon issue. It is also possible that Abdullah ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu uttered these words in a specific context, the determination of which is difficult—unless what is meant by the two prayers are the ‘Asr and Maghrib of the Day of ‘Arafah, and by “praying out of time” it is meant that it was made obligatory to perform them either earlier or later than their prescribed times. This is because on the Day of ‘Arafah, it is obligatory to combine ‘Asr with Zuhr at the time of Zuhr, and to delay Maghrib from its time and perform it together with ‘Isha. Whereas, during travel and similar situations, combining two prayers is a concession, not an obligation.

(2) “The morning prayer”—the apparent words are not intended here, because according to no one is it permissible to perform the morning prayer (Salat al-Fajr) in Muzdalifah before the break of dawn. Therefore, the word “usual” has been added in the translation, meaning that generally, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam would leave a gap between the break of dawn and the performance of the morning prayer so that people could gather. In Muzdalifah, however, the people were already present and prepared, so as soon as dawn broke, he led the prayer immediately without any delay or interval, so that there would be more time afterward for remembrance (dhikr) and standing (wuquf). Compared to the previous routine, this prayer was performed much earlier, and thus, as a form of hyperbole, it was described as being performed before its time.

(3) Some of the Hanafis have deduced from this narration that the morning prayer should be performed during isfar (when there is some light), because in Muzdalifah the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam performed the morning prayer during ghalas (darkness). And according to Ibn Mas'ud radi Allahu anhu, on other days he would not perform it at that time, implying that he would perform it during isfar. This is not correct. The correct explanation of this narration has already been mentioned above. As for the fact that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam generally performed the morning prayer during ghalas (darkness), this is decisively established from many authentic narrations. Is it correct to deduce from such an ambiguous narration, or even from its implication, in opposition to explicit wording? Yes, performing the prayer during isfar (light) is not prohibited, but the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to perform it during ghalas, and therefore, this is superior. (For a detailed discussion, see the introduction to the Book of Prayer Times [Kitab al-Mawaqit].)