What other explanations of the hadith of combining prayers (Sahih Muslim 1636) are given by Muslim scholars?

Question

Ahadiths from 1628 to 1637 mention combining prayers in Sahih Muslim.

I saw scholars on Huda TV and other places discuss some of these ahadiths, but I never heard of sahih muslim 1636 before:

'Abdullah b. Shaqiq reported: Ibn 'Abbas one day addressed us in the afternoon (after the afternoon prayer) till the sun disappeared and the stars appeared, and the people began to say: Prayer, prayer. A person from Banu Tamim came there. He neither slackened nor turned away, but (continued crying): Prayer, prayer. Ibn 'Abbas said: 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. 'Abdullah b. Shaqiq said: Some doubt was created in my mind about it. So I came to Abu Huraira and asked him (about it) and he testified his assertion. (See also here)

Recently someone told me of this hadith. They made a convincing case for why combining Zhur and Asr prayers and Magrib and Isha prayers is allowed.

However, As a sunni muslim, I wanted to ask if sunni scholars have addressed this hadith and it may have other meanings than the surface level meaning a laymen like me can derive.

Surely this is such an important thing, so Imam Muslim and others would have talked about this hadith and made it clear to the muslim community.

Answer 1

In short they explain such ahadith as follows:

• It was because of a valid excuse (such as travel, illness, rain or fear). Note that the majority of the madhabs allow for combining prayers due to one or more of these excuses. And everyone agrees on combining prayers in Hajj at Arafat and Muzdalifa.

• It was جمع صوري which is virtually combining prayers without doing it in reality. This is done by performing one prayer at the end of its time and the second prayer at the beginning of its time - which is permissible by agreement since both prayers are offered within their allowed times, they are just offered close to one another which gives the impression that they have been combined.

• It was because of some need (other than the above excuses). According to a small minority of the scholars combing prayers because of a need is permissible even if it is not among the prescribed list of excuses. However it must not be made a habit.

As for combining prayers without a valid excuse, then a majority of the madhabs do not allow it. That is because offering prayers at their ordained times is proven from tawatur:

إن الصلاة كانت على المؤمنين كتابا موقوتا

Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.

^{— Quran 4:103}

إنما التفريط على من لم يصل الصلاة حتى يجيء وقت الصلاة الأخرى

Negligence is when one does not offer one prayer until the time of the next prayer comes

^{— Muslim and Nasai}

كان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يصلي الصلاة لوقتها إلا بجمع وعرفات

The Messenger of Allah used to offer prayers at their proper time except in Jam' (Al-Muzdalifah) and Arafat.

^{— Nasai, Bukhari, Muslim}

While the ahadith on combining in the question are ahad and even if they are accepted they can be reconciled by alternate interpretations as above.