prescribed time, which he explained through his words and actions, saying, “The time is between these two limits,” is neither exclusive to combining prayers nor connected with it.

If someone were to say that the statement, “He combined the two prayers in Medina without fear or travel,” means combining them within their two separate times—as some of the Kufans maintain—there would be no difference between him and them. Why, then, should someone give short measure, failing to argue for others as he argues for himself, and refusing to accept for himself what he accepts for others?

Furthermore, this has been established through reports other than the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās. Al-Tahāwī related: Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibrāhīm ibn Abī Dāwūd and ʿImrān ibn Mūsā narrated to us, saying: Al-Rabīʿ ibn Yahyā al-Ashnānī informed us: Sufyān al-Thawrī narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, combined the noon and afternoon prayers, and the sunset and night prayers, in Medina as a concession, without fear or any other cause.”

However, the standing of this al-Ashnānī requires examination.

As for reports from the Companions concerning combining prayers because of rain, Mālik related from Nāfiʿ that whenever the governors combined the sunset and night prayers on a rainy night, ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar would combine the prayers with them on that rainy night. Al-Bayhaqī said: Al-ʿUmarī also narrated it from Nāfiʿ, adding, “Before twilight had disappeared.”

Al-Shāfiʿī related in his earlier writings: Some of our companions informed us, from Usāmah ibn Zayd, from Muʿādh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Khubayb, that Ibn ʿAbbās combined the two prayers in