he had also combined for those very reasons as well. (1) And Allah knows best. (2) Imam Ibn Qudāmah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “The rain that permits combining is that which soaks the clothes and makes going out troublesome. As for drizzle or a light rain that does not wet the garments, it does not allow combining. Snow has the same ruling as rain because it is of the same nature, and the same applies to hail.” (3)
When prayers are combined because of rain or a similar excuse, it is preferable to perform the second prayer within the time of the first, for the early generations would only combine in the time of the earlier prayer, and because this is easier for the people. There is no doubt that once combining is sanctioned, the two prayer times effectively merge into a single period. (4)
(1) Majmuʿ Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya, vol. 24, p. 83.
(2) Some jurists report from Ibn ʿUmar that the Prophet combined the Maghrib and ʿIshaʾ prayers on a rainy night. They say al-Najjad transmitted it with his own chain, but al-Albani classified it as very weak (Irwaʾ al-Ghalil, vol. 3, p. 39). It is also narrated by al-Diyaʾ al-Maqdisi. Al-Najjad—who is cited as the source—compiled a Musnad and an extensive Sunan work; al-Albani could examine only a few surviving sections and did not find the hadith among them, so it may be located in the missing portions (Irwaʾ, vol. 3, p. 40).
(3) al-Mughni by Ibn Qudama, vol. 3, p. 133.
(4) See: al-Mughni by Ibn Qudama, vol. 3, p. 136; Majmuʿ Fatawa Shaykh al-Islam, vol. 25, p. 230 and vol. 24, p. 56; al-Sharh al-Mumtiʿ by Ibn ʿUthaymin, vol. 4, p. 563.