“The sound position is that combining the prayers is permissible whenever a valid excuse exists; nothing else is required—neither immediate succession nor a prior intention …” (1)

Our Shaykh ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bāz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Combining is more accommodating: it is allowed for the sick person, and it is also allowed for the Muslims in their mosques whenever there is rain or slippery mud (dahḍ), whether by joining Maghrib and ʿIshāʾ or Zuhr and ʿAsr. Shortening, however, is not permissible for them, for shortening is restricted to travel alone. Allah is the granter of success.” (2)

He, may Allah have mercy on him, further clarified that the governing principle in joining two prayers is the presence of an excuse; whenever such an excuse exists it is permissible to combine Zuhr with ʿAsr and Maghrib with ʿIshāʾ—whether the excuse is illness, travel, or heavy rain, which is the sounder of the two scholarly opinions. Some scholars, however, forbid combining Zuhr and ʿAsr within the town on account of rain and the like, such as slippery mud that causes hardship,