Ibn ‘Abbās, who said: “When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was pressing on with his journey and set out before the sun passed its zenith = he would mount and travel on, then dismount and combine the noon and afternoon prayers. If he did not set out until the sun passed its zenith, he would combine the noon and afternoon prayers, then mount. If he intended to mount when the time for the sunset prayer had begun, he would combine the sunset and night prayers.”

Abū al-‘Abbās ibn Surayj said: Yahyā ibn ‘Abd al-Hamīd (1) narrated from Abū Khālid al-Ahmar, from al-Hajjāj, from al-Hakam, from Miqsam, from Ibn ‘Abbās, who said: “If the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not depart until the sun passed its zenith, he would pray the noon and afternoon prayers together. If the sun had not yet passed its zenith, he would delay the noon prayer until he could combine them at the time of the afternoon prayer (2).”

Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyya (3) said: “Evidence for combining prayers at the time of the earlier prayer is his combining the noon and afternoon prayers at ‘Arafa for the benefit of standing there, so that his supplications could continue uninterrupted, without his dismounting to perform the afternoon prayer, even though he could have done so without hardship. Combining prayers in this way because of hardship and need is therefore all the more warranted.”

Al-Shāfi‘ī (4) said: “It was easier for him on the day of ‘Arafa to bring the afternoon prayer forward so that he could continue