Combining Prayers: Valid Reasons
Sahih Muslim – 1629 کتاب:کتاب: مسافرو ں کی نماز اور قصر کے احکام باب:حضر (قیام کی حالت )میں دو نمازیں جمع کرنا ARABIC: و حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ وَعَوْنُ بْنُ سَلَّامٍ جَمِيعًا عَنْ زُهَيْرٍ قَالَ ابْنُ يُونُسَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ عَنْ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ قَالَ صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الظُّهْرَ وَالْعَصْرَ جَمِيعًا بِالْمَدِينَةِ فِي غَيْرِ خَوْفٍ وَلَا سَفَرٍ قَالَ أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ فَسَأَلْتُ سَعِيدًا لِمَ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ كَمَا سَأَلْتَنِي فَقَالَ أَرَادَ أَنْ لَا يُحْرِجَ أَحَدًا مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ TRANSLATION: Ibn ‘Abbas reported: The Messenger of Allah ( ‌صلی ‌اللہ ‌علیہ ‌وسلم ‌ ) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together in Medina without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey. (Abu Zubair said: I asked Sa’id [one of the narrators] why he did that. He said: I asked Ibn ‘Abbas as you have asked me, and he replied that he [the Holy Prophet] wanted that no one among his Ummah should be put to [unnecessary] hardship.) http://www.theislam360.com
Apologies for asking for elaboration – I just want to clarify this concept because it is so important to me to get it right. Is there a difference between convenience and hardship? In the example I gave (e.g., combining prayers when attending a wedding), there is inconvenience. “Hardship” feels like a strong word because it is physically possible to pray separately, just more difficult and inconvenient than usual. Does this capture the spirit of the Sharia? Or does combining only apply when it’s nearly impossible to pray separately? I think this idea of combing to attend social events is something that comes up very frequently in our lives as Muslims. Technically it is possible to delay attending the event until Maghrib can be offered. Some may also say it’s one’s responsibility to schedule around prayer times (e.g., start the party after Maghrib). I am just struggling to define the right balance and would like your opinion on cases like these where it is: more difficult than usual, but not impossible to pray the prayers separately.