All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. We seek His guidance in every matter and send peace and blessings upon His noble Prophet Muhammad ï·º, who taught us how to worship Allah correctly in times of ease and in times of difficulty. Among the blessings of Islam is that Allah has granted concessions to the believers, such as the allowance to combine prayers during travel or hardship. One of the common questions that arises is whether a Muslim can observe nafil (voluntary) prayers after performing the combined obligatory prayers, especially in the case of Jam‘ Taqdim (combining two prayers at the earlier time).
Answer:
When a Muslim combines Zuhr and ‘Asr during the time of Zuhr, the order is first to perform Zuhr, then ‘Asr immediately after. Once both obligatory prayers have been completed, it remains permissible to observe voluntary prayers. This is because combining the prayers does not cancel out or prevent the performance of Sunnah or nafil prayers.
For instance, one may pray the Sunnah prayers of Zuhr after completing the combined Zuhr and ‘Asr. Additionally, general voluntary prayers may also be offered afterward. However, it is important to remember that the Prophet ï·º taught us that there is no Sunnah prayer specifically legislated after ‘Asr. The only exception is if one is making up missed voluntary prayers from before ‘Asr, otherwise, one should restrict post-‘Asr prayers to general non-specified nafil.
Imam Ibn Qudamah (رØمه الله) stated in al-Mughni:
“If a person combines Zuhr and ‘Asr at the time of Zuhr, he may pray the Sunnah after Zuhr, and he does not lose the opportunity for voluntary prayers.”
This shows that combining prayers does not strip the Muslim of the chance to increase in good deeds through voluntary worship. The Prophet ï·º himself was known to be constant in his voluntary prayers, and the companions observed that he did not abandon them, even while traveling.
In summary, it is permissible to pray voluntary (nafil) prayers after combining prayers in Jam‘ Taqdim. A Muslim may pray the Sunnah after Zuhr and engage in other voluntary acts, but there is no legislated Sunnah after ‘Asr. The wisdom in this is that voluntary prayers are acts of devotion that compensate for shortcomings in the obligatory ones and bring the believer closer to Allah. Thus, even when combining prayers, a Muslim should not neglect the opportunity to gain rewards through nafil prayers.