fall under the general principle of hardship; in that case, combining the prayers is permissible.

If someone asks: What evidence is there for restricting the combining of prayers due to severe wind, rain, and mud to the two night prayers?

We reply: The evidence is that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him, “combined the two night prayers on a rainy night.” (1) However, there is some question regarding this hadith; it was narrated by al-Najjād, not al-Bukhari, as stated in some editions of al-Rawḍ.

Moreover, the fact that he combined them on a rainy night does not preclude combining them on a rainy day, because the effective cause is hardship. Therefore, the sound view in this matter is that it is permissible to combine the two daytime prayers for these excuses, just as it is permissible to combine the two night prayers. The effective cause is hardship; whenever hardship is present, whether by night or by day, combining is permissible.

The reasons permitting the combining of prayers are travel, illness, rain, mud, and a severe, cold wind. Yet they are not confined to these five causes. Rather, the five mentioned by the author are examples illustrating a general principle: hardship. Thus, it is permissible for a woman suffering from non-menstrual bleeding to combine the two daytime prayers and the two night prayers, due to the hardship of performing ablution for every prayer. It is likewise permissible for a person who is travelling and whose water is far away, making it difficult for him to go to it and perform ablution for every prayer, to combine the prayers—even if we hold that combining is not permitted for a traveller who has stopped at a place—because of the hardship of performing ablution for every prayer.