First: The five daily prayers have specific times. Allāh says: “Indeed, prayer has been decreed upon the believers a decree of specified times.” [Surah An-Nisā᾽: 103]. The Prophet (peace be upon him) defined these times in the famous ḥadīth of Gabriel, where he taught him the times of each prayer. Each prayer has a start time, an end time, an optimal time, and a preferred time. A Muslim should strive to perform the prayer within its designated time.

Second: Islamic law provides certain excuses for those who are unable to perform the prayer in its complete form due to certain circumstances, such as shortening prayers during travel and combining prayers for specific reasons, whether it is an apparent combination or a real one.

Therefore, if your job prevents you from performing prayers on time, and performing them could result in the loss of your income, and there is no immediate alternative to this job, you can follow the Ḥanbalī opinion and combine ῾Asr with Dhuhr in advance and delay Maghrib to combine it with ῾Ishā᾽. However, you should limit this practice to workdays only and not make it a habitual way of performing your prayers. If you can find even a short time to perform ῾Asr and Maghrib on time, do so. The guiding principle here is Allāh’s words: “So fear Allāh as much as you are able.” [Surah At-Taghābun: 16].

May Allāh ease all your affairs.

Fatwā issued by Dr. Khālid Naṣr