Response:
Rationally, if the Prophet ﷺ allowed flexibility to ease hardship for his community, following that concession reflects obedience, not negligence. Combining prayers does not mean abandoning any prayer; all five prayers are performed within their legitimate time frames.
The Qur’an says:
> “Establish the prayer from the declining of the sun until the darkness of the night.” (Qur’an 17:78)
This verse presents three general time spans, which clearly accommodates the combination of prayers.
From Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim:
> Ibn ʿAbbās narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ combined Ẓuhr with ʿAṣr and Maghrib with ʿIshāʾ in Madinah without fear or rain.
When asked why, he replied: “So that his community would not be put to hardship.”
Therefore, the Shiʿi practice directly follows the Prophet’s Sunnah.
