Can You Pray Dhuhr and Asr Together?

Praise be to Allah.

Joining prayers together because of snow

The Sunnah indicates that it is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together because of rain . Muslim (705) narrated from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) joined together Dhuhr and `Asr, and Maghrib and `Isha’ , in Madinah when there was no fear and no rain. I said to Ibn ‘Abbas: Why did he do that? He said: So that his Ummah would not be subjected to hardship.

It is permissible to join prayers together because of snowfall, by analogy with rain.

It says in Kashf Al-Qina`: And it is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together, but not Dhuhr and `Asr, because of snow and hail, because they come under the same ruling as rain.

And it is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together because of ice, because the weather will be very cold.

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) said with regard to joining prayers together because of hail: It is not permissible except on condition that the hail be accompanied by cold winds that could harm people, or if it is accompanied by snow, because when snow falls it undoubtedly causes trouble. In that case, it is permissible to join prayers together.

It should be noted that the Hanbali Madhhab is the most easy-going Madhhab concerning excuses that make it permissible to join prayers together. We will list these excuses here, so as to for the readers benefit.

When can you join prayers together?

Al-Bahuti (may Allah have mercy on him) said in Kashshaf Al-Qina` (2/5):

“Chapter on joining prayers together… It is permissible to join Dhuhr and `Asr together at the time of either of them, and to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together at the time of either of them. These four are the prayers that can be joined together: Dhuhr and `Asr, and Maghrib and `Isha’, at the time of either of them, either the first or the second.

That may be done in eight cases:

• For the traveller for whom it is permissible to shorten the four-Rak`ah prayers , so long as his journey is not disliked or prohibited.

• For one who is sick, for whom not joining prayers together will cause hardship and toil. It is proven that it is permissible to join prayers together for the woman who is suffering from Istihadah (irregular bleeding), which is a kind of sickness. Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) argued that sickness is more difficult than travel, and he was treated with cupping after the sun set, then he ate supper, then he joined the prayers together.

• For one who is breastfeeding, because of the difficulty caused by a great deal of impurity. That is, it is difficult to purify it for every prayer. Abu Al-Ma`ali (may Allah have mercy on him) said: She is like one who is sick.
• One who is unable to purify himself with water or to do Tayammum for every prayer, because joining prayers together was permitted for one who is travelling and one who is sick because of difficulty, and the one who is unable to purify himself for every prayer comes under the same ruling as them.

• One who is unable to work out the time, such as one who is blind and one who is underground, as referred to by Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him); he mentioned it in Ar-Ri`ayah.

• One who is suffering from Istihadah and others who come under the same ruling, such as one who is incontinent and constantly passes urine or emits Madhiy, or suffers constant nosebleeds, and the like. That is because of what is mentioned in the Hadith of Hamnah (may Allah be pleased with her), when she consulted the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about Istihadah, and he said: “If you are able to delay Dhuhr and bring `Asr forward, then do Ghusl and pray Dhuhr and `Asr together, and then delay Maghrib and bring `Isha’ forward, then do Ghusl and offer the two prayers together, then do that.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and At-Tirmidhi who classed it as authentic). The one who is suffering from urinary incontinence and the like comes under the same ruling.

• One who has work or an excuse that makes it permissible not to pray Jumu`ah and prayers in congregation, such as one who fears for his life or his wealth.

When can you join Maghrib and Isha only together?

The abovementioned excuses make it permissible to join Dhuhr and `Asr together , and Maghrib and `Isha’ together .

However, there are other excuses that make it permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together in particular. There are six of these, which he explained as follows:

• It is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together in the event of rain that soaks one’s clothes, or soaks one’s shoes or body, and which causes hardship. Al-Bukhari narrated with his Isnad (chain of narration) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) joined Maghrib and `Isha’ together on a rainy night. Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthman (may Allah be pleased with them) did likewise. But it is not permissible to join prayers together because of drizzle, or because of light rain that does not soak one’s clothes, according to our Madhhab, because that does not cause hardship.
• It is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together, but not Dhuhr and `Asr, in the event of snow and hail, because they come under the same ruling as rain.
• It is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together in the event of ice because the weather will be very cold, and in the case of mud and intense cold wind. Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) said in the report of Al-Maymuni (may Allah be pleased with her): Ibn ‘Umar would join prayers together on a cold night. And he added in Al-Madhhab and Al-Mustaw‘ab and Al-Kafi: If it was dark. Al-Qadi said: And if there is any mention of him not attending prayer in congregation because of the cold, there should be added: or when it is muddy, because the hardship caused by cold is not greater than the hardship caused by mud. This is indicated by the report of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) which says that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) join prayers together in Madinah when there was no fear and no rain, and there is no way to understand this report except meaning that there was mud. That is, assuming there was no sickness [that would prevent him from attending the prayer]. Al-Qadi said: This is more likely to be the case, and is better than understanding it to mean that there was no excuse at all and it is better than suggesting that this ruling is abrogated. So it is permissible to join prayers together in the case of these excuses, even for one who prays in his house or who prays in his local mosque under the arcade, or for one who is staying in the mosque, and the like, such as the one between whose house and the mosque there are only a few steps, even if he will not be harmed except a little. That is because in the case of a general concession, it makes no difference whether hardship is present or not, as in the case of travel. Rather this is limited to joining Maghrib and `Isha’ together because the reports only speak of this case, and the hardship involved is greater as these prayers are offered when it is dark, and the hardship of travel is because of travelling and the fear of having no travelling companions.”

Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymin (may Allah have mercy on him) thought it more likely to be the case that one may join Dhuhr and `Asr together too in such situations, if hardship is involved.

“He (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The correct view regarding this issue is that it is permissible to join Dhuhr and `Asr together too in such situations, just as it is permissible to join Maghrib and `Isha’ together. The reason for that is hardship. If there is hardship, whether by night or by day, it is permissible to join prayers together.” (Ash-Sharh Al-Mumti‘, 4/393)

And he (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

“If it is intensely cold, with wind that is harmful to people, then it is permissible to join together Dhuhr and `Asr, and Maghrib and `Isha’, because of the proven report in Sahih Muslim from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) joined prayers together in Madinah when there was no fear and no rain. They said to Ibn ‘Abbas: What was the aim behind that? He said: He did not want his Ummah to be subjected to hardship. This indicates that the wisdom behind permitting joining the prayers together is to relieve the Muslims of hardship, otherwise it would not be permissible to join prayers together. The hardship in the case of cold is only when it is accompanied by cold winds. If there is no wind, then a person can protect himself against the cold by wearing layers of clothing, and he will not be harmed by the cold. Hence if someone were to ask us: Is it permissible to join prayers together just because it is very cold? We would say: It is not permissible, unless the cold is accompanied by a cold wind that harms people, or if it is accompanied by snow, because when snow falls it undoubtedly causes trouble. In that case, it is permissible to join prayers together. But if someone joins prayers together just because it is cold, this is not a legitimate excuse to allow him to join the prayers together. Whoever joins two prayers together for no legitimate reason is sinning and the prayer that he joins together with the earlier prayer is not valid and does not count; rather he must repeat it. If he joins them together at the time of the later prayer, then the first prayer is not offered at its time, so he is sinning by doing that. I wanted to point out this issue, because some people told me that they joined prayers together two nights ago because of the cold, without there being any wind that harms people, and this is not permissible for them.” (Liqa’ Al-Bab Al-Maftuh, 18/1)

And Allah knows best.