The second view is that they may combine their prayers but not shorten them. This is the position of Abū Hanīfah and a group of Ahmad’s and al-Shāfi'ī’s followers. The statements transmitted from Ahmad accord with this, for on several occasions he answered that they should not shorten their prayers; he did not say that they should not combine them. This is the view that Abū Muhammad al-Maqdisī favoured regarding combining prayers, and he was right to do so.

The third view is that they may both combine and shorten their prayers. This is the position of Mālik and Ishāq ibn Rāhawayh, and the view of Tāwūs, Ibn 'Uyaynah and other early scholars. It is also the view of a group of Ahmad’s and al-Shāfi'ī’s followers, including Abū al-Khattāb in al-'Ibādāt al-khams (The Five Acts of Worship). This is the view favoured by Abū Muhammad al-Maqdisī and others among Ahmad’s followers. Abū Muhammad and those who agreed with him favoured permitting a Meccan to combine prayers at Arafah. As for shortening them, Abū Muhammad said: “The evidence supports those who permit every traveller to shorten the prayer, unless a consensus is established to the contrary.”

It is known that no consensus has been established to the contrary. This is also the position chosen by a group of scholars among Ahmad’s followers; some of them would shorten their prayers on a journey of one barīd. This is the correct view, and anyone who has understood and reflected upon the Sunnah may not maintain otherwise. Whoever carefully considers the hadiths concerning the Farewell Pilgrimage and their context will know with certainty that those who accompanied the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, whether from Mecca or elsewhere, prayed with him, shortening and combining their prayers, and did not do otherwise. No one has ever reported that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, either at Arafah or