nor will it be sound; and, as a consequence, the Muslims will have neither honour nor standing in this world or the Hereafter except by holding fast to this religion—especially the prayer, which is the backbone of Islam. Accordingly, we see no valid excuse for you to perform the prayer after its appointed time.

As for what you asked about combining Dhuhr and ʿAsr with Maghrib, that is impermissible by the consensus of the Muslims. Dhuhr and ʿAsr may never be joined to Maghrib. Only ʿIshāʾ, the last prayer of the night, may be combined with Maghrib when a recognised legal excuse exists, whereas Dhuhr and ʿAsr can under no circumstances be grouped with it. You are not among those who possess the kinds of excuses that allow combining, for study or work is not an excuse that permits it.

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Question: We are a group of female students at the University of Aden who are diligent in offering the prayer on time. Yet during our classes—especially when they run past noon—we sometimes miss ʿAsr and Maghrib because we simply cannot pray at the university despite every effort, for various reasons. Therefore we would like to know: Is it permissible to perform ʿAsr together with Dhuhr as an early combination (jamʿ taqdīm), and to perform Maghrib together with ʿIshāʾ as a delayed combination (jamʿ taʾkhīr), thereby sparing ourselves from abandoning these two obligatory prayers altogether or from having to make them up later, as some of us occasionally do?

Answer: First, if it is possible for you to pray during study hours and within the proper time, then that is an obligation. You should approach the university authorities and request that they allot you a short period in which to perform the prayer and then return to your work, and this is an easy matter.