Following is the Fatwa of Shaykh Abdul Mannan Nurpuri Rahimullah
Question:
Ibn ‘Abbas reported:
وَحَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ يُونُسَ، وَعَوْنُ بْنُ سَلاَّمٍ، جَمِيعًا عَنْ زُهَيْرٍ، – قَالَ ابْنُ يُونُسَ حَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرٌ، – حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جُبَيْرٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ صَلَّى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم الظُّهْرَ وَالْعَصْرَ جَمِيعًا بِالْمَدِينَةِ فِي غَيْرِ خَوْفٍ وَلاَ سَفَرٍ . قَالَ أَبُو الزُّبَيْرِ فَسَأَلْتُ سَعِيدًا لِمَ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ سَأَلْتُ ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ كَمَا سَأَلْتَنِي فَقَالَ أَرَادَ أَنْ لاَ يُحْرِجَ أَحَدًا مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ .
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) observed the noon and afternoon prayers together in Medina without being in a state of fear or in a state of journey. (Abu Zubair said: I asked Sa’id [one of the narrators] why he did that. He said: I asked Ibn ‘Abbas as you have asked me, and he replied that he [the Holy Prophet] wanted that no one among his Ummah should be put to [unnecessary] hardship.) [Sahih Muslim, The Book of Prayer of the Travellers, Chapter: Combination Of Prayers, When One Is Resident]
Ibn ‘Abbas said:
أَتُعَلِّمُنِي بِالسُّنَّةِ لاَ أُمَّ لَكَ . ثُمَّ قَالَ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم جَمَعَ بَيْنَ الظُّهْرِ وَالْعَصْرِ وَالْمَغْرِبِ وَالْعِشَاءِ
May you be deprived of your mother, do you teach me Sunnah? And then he said: I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) combining the noon and afternoon prayers and the sunset and ‘Isha’ prayers. [Sahih Muslim, The Book of Prayer of the Travellers, Chapter: Combination Of Prayers, When One Is Resident]
okay, so it is proven from these ahadith that Prophet peace be upon him combined the prayes without any fear and rain, can we deduce ruling from these ahadith to combine Maghrib and Isha because it is to provide ease for the ummah? Actually we make furniture and we do overtime at nights, The time starts from 6:30 PM upto 10:30 PM. We feel sleepy If we pray Isha at 10:30 PM and when we sleep we wake up at 5:00 AM in the morning. Can we deduce ruling from the above ahadith to combine Maghrib and Isha at 6:00 PM for two and a half month continuously?
Answer:
You have quoted the Hadith of Abdullah Ibn Abbas from Sahih Muslim in which it is mentioned to combine the prayers in the state of peace and when one is resident. Prophet peace be upon him did this once in his whole life otherwise his routine was same which is mentioned in Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, four books of Sunan and other books of ahadith. Apparently it seemed that He peace be upon him combined the prayers, but not in reality as the words of this hadith in the narration of an-Nasaee are as follows:
It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas said:
قَالَ صَلَّيْتُ مَعَ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم بِالْمَدِينَةِ ثَمَانِيًا جَمِيعًا وَسَبْعًا جَمِيعًا أَخَّرَ الظُّهْرَ وَعَجَّلَ الْعَصْرَ وَأَخَّرَ الْمَغْرِبَ وَعَجَّلَ الْعِشَاءَ
“I prayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) in Al-Madinah, eight (rakah of Zuhr and Asr) together and seven (rakah of Maghrib and Isha) together. He delayed Zuhr and brought ‘Asr forward, and he delayed Maghrib and brought ‘Isha’ forward.”[an-Nasaee 1/69]
So sometimes in the state of peace (with kuffar) and when one is resident (not in safar), if someone prayes Zuhr in its late timing and Asr in its early time or Maghrib in its ending time and Isha in its early time, and combines it apparently his practice is fine according to the Shariyah, But his normal routine would be the same as Prophet peace be upon him did. Abdullah ibn Abbas ra mentioned one incident mentioned above where Prophet peace be upon him combined two prayers for the purpose that there is no harm in it (if one do it sometimes). He did not say it is an obligation or It is better. [Quran o Hadith ki roshni me Ahkam wa Masaail 1/112-114]