I asked Salim bin Abdullah about his father's prayer while traveling, and we asked him whether his father used to combine any of his prayers on a journey.He mentioned that Safiya bint Abu Ubayd was his father's wife, and she once wrote to him while he was at one of his farms, saying, "I am in the last day of this world and the first day of the next."So he mounted his ride and hurried toward her. When the time for the noon prayer came, the muezzin said to him, "The prayer, Abu Abdul-Rahman."But he paid no attention until the time fell between the two prayers. Then he dismounted and said, "Call the iqamah, and when I have finished this prayer, call the iqamah again so I may pray the next."Then he rode on until the sun had set. The muezzin said to him, "The prayer."He replied, "Do as you did with the noon and afternoon prayers."Then he continued until the stars had become entangled in the sky. He dismounted and said to the muezzin, "Call the iqamah, and when I have finished, call the iqamah again so I may pray."After he had finished, he turned to us and said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, 'When any of you faces a matter he fears he may miss, let him pray in this manner,'" meaning combining the two prayers.
سألت سالم بن عبد الله عن صلاة أبيه في السفر، وسألناه هل كان يجمع بين شيء من صلاته في سفره؟ فذكر أن صفية بنت أبي عبيد كانت تحته، فكتبت إليه وهو في زراعة له أني في آخر يوم من أيام الدنيا، وأول يوم من الآخرة، فركب فأسرع السير إليها حتى إذا حانت صلاة الظهر، قال له المؤذن: الصلاة يا أبا عبد الرحمن، فلم يلتفت حتى إذا كان بين الصلاتين نزل، فقال: أقم، فإذا سلمت فأقم فصلي، ثم ركب حتى إذا غابت الشمس، قال له المؤذن: الصلاة، فقال: كفعلك في صلاة الظهر والعصر، ثم سار حتى إذا اشتبكت النجوم نزل، ثم قال للمؤذن: أقم فإذا سلمت فأقم فصلي، ثم انصرف، فالتفت إلينا فقال: قال رسول الله ﷺ: إذا حضر أحدكم الأمر الذي يخاف فوته فليصل هذه الصلاة يعني الجمع بين الصلاتين.
Narrated by Nasai (588), and Tabarani in al-Kabir (12/319-320), both from the hadith of Yazid bin Zuray, who said, our teacher Kathir bin Qarunda told us, then he related it. Its chain is hasan because of Kathir bin Qarunda, since a group of narrators transmitted from him and no one declared him daif, and Ibn Hibban mentioned him among the trustworthy narrators.As for what was narrated from Ibn Umar, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ never combined Maghrib and Isha during travel except once," this is munkar. Abu Dawud (1209) narrated it from Qutayba, who said, Abdullah bin Nafi told us, from Abu Mawdud, from Sulayman bin Abu Yahya, from Ibn Umar, then he related it.In its chain is Abdullah bin Nafi Abu Muhammad Makhzumi, their freedman, of Madinah, the goldsmith, who has weak memory. Munziri discussed him in detail in al-Mukhtasar, and this narration contradicts what is found in the Sahihayn and other sources. Abu Dawud also found fault with it, noting that it is actually a stopped report attributed only to Ibn Umar, saying, "This is narrated from Ayub, from Nafi, concerning the night of Ibn Umar, as a stopped report attributed to Ibn Umar himself, that Ibn Umar was never seen combining the two prayers except on that night, meaning when he received urgent news about Safiyyah. It has also been narrated from Makhul, from Nafi, that he saw Ibn Umar do that once or twice." End of quote.However, his narration as recorded in the Sahihayn and elsewhere indicates that it was the Prophet's ﷺ regular practice to combine the two prayers during travel. Given this, what has been narrated about Ibn Umar's practice, that he was never seen combining the two prayers except on the night he received urgent news about Safiyyah, or that he combined them once or twice, contradicts the Prophet's ﷺ practice.Likewise, what Abu Dawud (1262) narrated through the route of Muhammad bin Fudayl, from his father, from Nafi and Abdullah bin Waqid, is not sound, that the muezzin of Ibn Umar said, "The prayer." He said, "Continue on, continue on," until, just before the twilight disappeared, he dismounted and prayed Maghrib. Then he waited until the twilight had disappeared and prayed Isha. Then he said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, whenever some urgent matter pressed upon him, would do just as I have done." He traveled that day and night a distance covering three days' journey.This is shadh, because Fudayl bin Ghazwan contradicted the companions of Nafi. Bayhaqi (3/160) said, "The narrations of Yahya bin Saeed Ansari, Musa bin Uqba, Ubaydullah bin Umar, Ayub Sakhtiyani, and Umar bin Muhammad bin Zayd all agree, on the authority of Nafi, that Ibn Umar's combining of the two prayers took place after the disappearance of the twilight. He was contradicted by someone who does not approach their level in memorizing Nafi's hadiths." Then he said, "The narration of the memorizers among the companions of Nafi is more likely to be correct." End of quote.I believe the error does not lie with Fudayl bin Ghazwan, since he is trustworthy and precise, but rather with his son Muhammad, who has been described as prone to confusion.