All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. We seek His help, His guidance, and His forgiveness. May peace and blessings be upon His noble Messenger, Muhammad ï·º, his family, his companions, and all those who follow his path until the Last Day.
Islam, in its mercy and wisdom, has provided ease for the believers in times of hardship. One of such concessions is the permissibility of combining prayers (Jam‘) during circumstances like rain, travel, or other valid difficulties. However, a common question arises when one misses the congregation that already combined due to rain:
The Question:
If the mosque has already prayed Jam‘ (combined prayer) due to rain, but I arrive later when the rain has already stopped, can I still combine my prayers, or must I pray each prayer separately?
Answer:
In this situation, you are required to pray each prayer separately at its proper time. You cannot combine the prayers on your own once the excuse (rain) has ceased.
The permission to combine prayers (Jam‘) is not general but is tied to specific reasons such as rain, travel, or hardship. The Prophet ï·º himself combined prayers during times of rain to remove difficulty for the worshippers, as recorded in Sahih Muslim (705).
When that excuse is no longer present, the reason (Ê¿illah) for combining disappears, and the normal rule praying each prayer in its prescribed time resumes.
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (rahimahullah) clarified this matter, saying:
“If a person did not pray with the congregation that combined due to rain, then for him the ruling of combining does not apply. He should pray each prayer at its time, unless he has the same excuse they had.” (ash-Sharh al-MumtiÊ¿, vol. 4)
This ruling is based on a well-known principle in Islamic jurisprudence:
العِÙ„َّØ©ُ تَدُورُ Ù…َعَ Ù…َعْÙ„ُولِÙ‡َا Ùˆُجُودًا ÙˆَعَدَÙ…ًا
“Al-Ê¿illah tadÅ«ru maÊ¿a Ê¿illatiha wujÅ«dan wa Ê¿adaman”
“A ruling revolves around its reason: when the reason exists, the ruling applies; when it ceases, the ruling ceases.”
If a person had arrived at the mosque while the rain was still falling, he could have joined the congregation in combining, because he shared the same excuse as them. However, if he arrived after the rain had stopped, then the excuse no longer applies. In this case, he should:
1. Pray only the prayer of the current time (for example, Maghrib if it is still Maghrib time).
2. Wait until the next prayer enters (e.g., Ê¿Isha) and then perform it at its proper time.
He is not permitted to combine the two prayers by himself, since the legal reason (ʿillah) that allowed Jamʿ the rain has ceased.
In summary, combining prayers during rain is a mercy granted to remove hardship. If the rain has ceased by the time one arrives, the permission to combine no longer applies. Such a person should pray each prayer in its appointed time, beginning with the prayer of the current time, and then performing the next when its time enters.