Combining Prayer

In the Name of God; Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Recently I was discussing with someone about the difficulty of praying at work.  The conversation went onto combining of prayers for ease.  He said this was something he knew of, but had not really done or looked into.  Therefore, for information I thought I might write something about the various positions amongst the scholars of Islam.  The topic does also show the fundamental differences between the methodologies of the four Sunni Schools of Law - Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali - and so is also a useful topic for comparative jurisprudence.

Quranic verse on the timings of prayer

{Prayer is obligatory for the believers at prescribed times} [4:103]

This verse is clear and is used unanimously as a general command of obligation on Muslims to pray at specific times, for which the details are found elsewhere in the Sunnah.  These are the prayers at: the morning (fajr), noon (dhuhr), the mid afternoon (asr), dusk (maghrib) and night (i'sha).  There is slight disagreement about the exact timings of some of these prayers, but that is beyond the scope of this post.

Combining of prayer in the Sunnah

There are many narrations that speak of the Prophet (peace be upon him) combing prayers.  Scholars argue over their authenticity, but the ones agreed upon - for which the others merely corroborate a particular interpretation - are these.  I have numbered them so that they can referred to easily:

1. Anas ibn Malik said: "When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set off on a journey before noon, he would delay Dhuhr until the time of 'Asr and then join the two. If it was past noon, he would pray Dhuhr and then mount." [Bukhari, Muslim]

2. ibn 'Umar said, "I saw the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, when he was in a hurry on a journey, delay Maghrib and join it with 'Isha'." [Bukhari, Muslim]

3. ibn Abbas said: "The Messenger of Allah combined the dhuhr and 'asr and then the maghrib and 'isha in Medinah without there being any danger or rain." Ibn 'Abbas was asked: "What did he desire by that action?" He replied: "He did not want any hardship for his community." [Muslim]

There is a disagreement between the verse of the Qur'an and the Sunnah for which the scholars have differed in how to interpret this.

Hanafi prohibition of 'true' combining

The Hanafi School differs in interpreting the Qur'an because it argues that a general verse is as definitive (A'mm) as a particular (Khass) one and so can supersede its meaning.  In this case the general understanding from the Quranic verse is seen as definitive and therefore all seemingly contrary evidences are interpreted accordingly. In other words prayers are at their fixed times and they cannot be moved from this.

Whilst the hadith above could mean combining two prayers in one prayer time, they are somewhat speculaitve because they could also mean combining in one place.  So that statements like in hadith 1: "he would delay Dhuhr until the time of 'Asr and then join the two," could mean the Prophet (peace be upon him) delayed prayer until he just caught the end of Dhuhr time and then prayed 'Asr right at the beginning of its time, all in one place.

Therefore the Hanafi Scholars have argued that a speculative interpretation cannot override a clear one.  Other hadith corroborate this interpretation, such as:

ibn Masu'd said: "I never observed the Messenger of God (peace be upon him) pray any prayer out of its time except as Muzdalifa [during the pilgrimage].  He combined Maghrib and Isha at Muzdalifa" [Bukhari, Muslim]

They argue it is virtually impossible that a companion of ibn Masu'd's knowledge would be unaware of combining prayers.  It is also probably worth noting that ibn Masu'd initiated the Kufan School in Iraq that was the forerunner to the Hanafi School, which may explain their reasoning.  Whilst this narration does seem to also contradict their interpretation somewhat, they would argue that the prayer at Muzdalifa during pilgrimage (Hajj) is a special act of worship reserved for only then, i.e. it is the prescribed time, just to a different one.

Maliki combining due to hardship

The Maliki's synthesised both the verse and the hadith so that there is effectively three prayer times: fajr, dhuhr and a'sr make one time, and maghrib and i'sha make another.  However, to pray outside of the usual five times is impermissible without a valid excuse.  The effective cause (i'lla) for the excuse is considered hardship, owing to the words from hadith 3 "He did not want any hardship for his community."  It is worth noting that the force of the evidences to pray in the correct five times is great and so the excuses are likewise great.  Therefore, they have identified severe illness, chronic breaking of ritual purity, heavy rain for a congregation at night and a hurried journey.  The last two points need a little explanation.

There are a number of evidences that point to rain as an excuse, which can also be understood from hadith 3.  However, the Maliki's argue it is only rain at night or treacherous mud owing to the hardship endured.  From some rather complex legal argument this may seem an unnecessary specification, rather than just saying heavy rain generally.  However the Maliki methodology makes use of the Practice (Amal) of the people of Madina as evidence also.  Since the school initiated in the cities of Mecca and Madina at a time when the Prophet's Sunnah was in living memory and prevalently practiced, they used common practice of upright knowledgeable Muslims like a hadith.  A narration not by word of mouth, but by observation and repetition.  It is argued that this is a sounder form of evidence than a hadith because you remember more of what you witness than what you merely hear.

The Maliki's also argue that the journey which permits combining of prayers must be hurried.  Mention of this can be seen in hadith 2  "when he was in a hurry on a journey." Since the effective cause is hardship then the only journey included as an excuse is a difficult one.  Journeys for mere amusement etc are not considered a valid excuse.

Shafi'i combining for rain and travelling

The Shafi'i's argued the verse is general, but the hadiths give exceptions.  Therefore the only excuses are those stipulated in the hadith, namely that of heavy rain if praying in congregation and travelling.  The Shafi'i School is heavily text based and more literalistic than the two already discussed, therefore the excuses are not as defined as the Maliki School since the texts are silent on this matter.

Hanbali most lenient

The Hanbali School generally views the Qur'an and Sunnah as one source of equal weighting and relies heavily on the transmissions from the first three generations (the salaf).  On this point they are the most lenient as they have taken the hadith 3 "He did not want any hardship for his community," equal to that of the verse.  As such they have been more liberal in describing the hardships which permit combining.  They have identified: travelling, sickness, a breast feeding women, chronic breaking of ritual purity and - most interestingly given our times - combining due to fear of loss of property or wealth (i.e. this means prayer can be combined at work if difficult).

Modern Discussion

There are many many more arguments within each school that have not been mentioned, as well as those outside of them.  Although, it paints a picture of the Sunni understanding of combining of prayers.  As we have moved to the modern era, scholars have very much repeated the above since prayer is from the acts of worship (ibadat) and beyond reasoning.  However, they are also sympathetic to the situation we find ourselves in today and are normally a little more liberal in giving verdicts (fatwa).

Sh. Abdullah bin Bayyah - one of the most erudite and respected scholars of our age, having formal permission (ijaza) to give legal opinions in all four schools of law - says:

"There is a valid opinion amongst the recognised fuqaha (scholars) ... in circumstances where people really have a difficult time, it is better that they join their prayers rather than lose their prayers altogether because if you do not present those options for them, there are people who say, "I can't pray. It's too hard. I'm working and this and that;" and their iman (faith) might be weak. So, in these types of situations, there has to be facilitation for these people."

The European Fatwa Council stated, also making use of hadith 3:

"The Council concluded that it is permitted to combine two prayers in Europe during Summer when Isha enters around midnight, or the signs of Ishā' disappear totally, so that Muslims do not face difficulty ...  In the same respect, it is also permitted for a Muslim to combine Dhuhr and 'Asr prayers in these countries during winter when the day is very short and it becomes increasingly difficult for employees to pray each in its own time. The Council, however, warns Muslims against combining the said prayers without the actual need to and against making this permission a constant habit."

Conclusion

The scholars of Islam have defined clear methodologies for identifying and interpreting evidence.  Since they differed in this then they also differed in the concluding rulings they derived.  Generally it is not considered permissible to mix between the schools in a single act as it may produce something contradictory - something the Shariah is not - however it is permissible to take a dispensation (rukhsa) from another school due to hardship. The plurality of legal opinions in Islamic Law give vast freedoms for people of all walks of life.  Of course some opinions are safer and more religiously precautionary than others.  And whilst we are free to choose, we must remember it is our own selves who will have to answer for our actions.  As the saying goes there is a difference between fatwa (legal verdict) and taqwa (piety).

"Ibn Mas'ud said: "I asked the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, 'What is the best action?' He said, 'The prayer in its time.'" [Bukhari, Muslim]

And God knows best

Further Reading

Bidayat Al-Mujtahid Wa Nihayat Al-Muqtasid (The Distinguished Jurist's Primer) vol 1 by ibn Rushd (trans. Imran Nyazee), Garnet Publishing Ltd