Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 533❖ Question:
What do the scholars of Islam say regarding the matter that due to rainfall, can we combine Maghrib and ʿIshā prayers? Can other prayers also be combined? And in the case of combining prayers (جمع بین الصلوٰتین), are the Sunnah (non-obligatory) prayers omitted or not?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
◈ It is permissible to combine two prayers due to rain.
◈ Just as it is permissible to combine Maghrib and ʿIshā prayers, it is also permissible to combine Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr prayers.
◈ The evidence for this is the same ḥadīth that is used to prove the permissibility of combining Maghrib and ʿIshā; in that same narration, the combination of Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr is also mentioned.
❖ Evidence from Ḥadīth:
It is recorded in Sunan Abī Dāwūd:
عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: «صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْمَدِينَةِ ثَمَانِيًا وَسَبْعًا، الظُّهْرَ وَالْعَصْرَ، وَالْمَغْرِبَ وَالْعِشَاءَ»
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, vol. 1, p. 171, Bāb al-Jamʿ Bayna aṣ-Ṣalātayn; Nayl al-Awṭār, vol. 3, p. 245)
Translation:
Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنه reported: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ combined for us, in Madinah, eight rakʿāt (for Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr) and seven rakʿāt (for Maghrib and ʿIshā).”
This ḥadīth is agreed upon (متفق عليه).
❖ Explanation:
◈ According to the wording of the ḥadīth, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ led us in eight rakʿāt (four for Ẓuhr and four for ʿAṣr) and seven rakʿāt (three for Maghrib and four for ʿIshā) together while in Madinah.
◈ Since this ḥadīth does not mention the Sunnah prayers, it indicates that the Sunnah (non-obligatory) prayers are omitted when the obligatory prayers are combined.
◈ The ruling permitting combining prayers during rain is also derived from this very ḥadīth.
ھٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
This is what I hold to be correct, and Allah knows best what is right.
