as evidence for this except this hadith of Mu‘ādh. Its apparent meaning is that he was staying in a tent while travelling, and that he delayed Zuhr, then came out and prayed Zuhr and ‘Asr together. He then went back inside his dwelling before coming out and praying Maghrib and ‘Ishā’ together. Entering and leaving apply to a dwelling; someone on the move is not described as entering and leaving, but as dismounting and mounting.

Tabūk was the Prophet’s last military expedition, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He did not travel after it except for the Farewell Pilgrimage, during which he is only reported to have combined prayers at ‘Arafah and Muzdalifah. As for Minā, no one reported that he combined prayers there. Rather, they reported that he shortened the prayers there. Nor did they report that he delayed the first prayer until the end of its time or brought the second forward to the beginning of its time. This shows that he sometimes combined prayers while travelling and sometimes did not. More often than not, he did not combine them on his journeys. This makes clear that combining prayers is not a Sunnah of travel in the way that shortening them is. Rather, it is done when needed, whether travelling or at home, for he also combined prayers while at home so as not to impose hardship on his community.

Thus, when a traveller needs to combine prayers, he may do so, whether because he is on the move during the time of the second prayer, or during the time of the first and stopping is difficult for him, or because he has some other need even while encamped. For example, he may need sleep and rest at the times of Zuhr and ‘Ishā’. He may stop at the time of Zuhr exhausted, having been awake through the night, hungry and in need of rest, food and sleep, and so delay Zuhr until the time of ‘Asr