Ishāq (1) ibn Rāhawayh (2) also narrated: Shabāba narrated to us; Layth narrated to us, from ‘Uqayl, from Ibn Shihāb, from Anas, that when the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was travelling and the sun passed its zenith, he would pray the noon and afternoon prayers, then set out. This chain of transmission is as you can see. Shabāba is Shabāba ibn Sawwār, the trustworthy narrator whose hadith is unanimously accepted as evidence. Muslim narrated a report through him (3) from al-Layth ibn Sa‘d in his Sahīh (4). Thus, this chain meets the criteria of both Sahīh collections; at the very least, it strengthens the hadith of Mu‘ādh. The basic report appears in both Sahīh collections (5), but it does not mention combining the prayers at the earlier prayer’s time (6).

Abū Dāwūd (7) then said: Hishām ibn ‘Urwa (8) narrated from Husayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh, from Kurayb, from Ibn ‘Abbās, from the Prophet ﷺ, a report similar to that of al-Mufaddal—meaning the hadith of Mu‘ādh concerning combining the prayers at the earlier prayer’s time. Its wording, as narrated from Husayn ibn ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās, from Kurayb, from Ibn ‘Abbās, is that he said: “Shall I tell you about the prayer of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when travelling? Whenever