during the time of Asr, she is then required to perform both Dhuhr and Asr, and her Dhuhr is deemed to have been performed within its appointed time. Likewise, if she becomes pure near the end of the night, she performs Maghrib and Ishā, and her Maghrib is deemed to have been performed within its appointed time. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah (1)—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—instructed her to do so: Abd al-Rahmān ibn Awf, Ibn Abbās, and Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with them. No contrary view has been transmitted from any Companion.

This indicates that it is part of the Sunnah known to the Companions, for such circumstances occurred during the lifetime of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—and his caliphs. The Quran and Sunnah also establish this, for Allah has assigned three prayer times to one who has an excuse, and this woman has an excuse. This is the school of Mālik, al-Shāfiī, and Ahmad ibn Hanbal (2). It also indicates that, for one who has an excuse, the two prayers share an appointed time; hence, no intention to combine them is required. This is the view of the majority: Abū Hanīfah, Mālik, Imām Ahmad, and the earlier adherents of his school.

Al-Shāfiī, however, and a group of Ahmad’s followers, including al-Khiraqī and those who agreed with him, held that an intention is required when shortening and combining prayers. The majority of scholars maintain that an intention is required for neither. This is the school of Mālik, Abū Hanīfah, Ahmad, and the earlier adherents of his school (3), and it is the correct view, as explained at length elsewhere (4).

The case (5) of the menstruating woman is among the matters demonstrating that performing a prayer outside the time in which one was commanded to perform it