Answered by Ustadh Nail Kadi
Question:
If a Hanafi combines prayers within a single prayer time according to the Shafi’i school, what other aspects of the Shafi’i madhab should they adhere to?
Answer:
Wa alaykum salam wa rahmat Allah.
I pray you are doing well.
A Hanafi should not ordinarily combine prayers in a single prayer time. In extenuating circumstances that demand combining, for the traveler’s prayer, one’s wudhu and prayer as well as the timing and period of travel should agree with the Shafi’i madhab.
Permissible & Impermissible Mixing of Madhabs
Following another madhab in a specific action entails that one’s action accords with that madhab in terms of knowing and applying the action’s integrals and conditions. This is the position of Shaykh Abdul Ghanī al-Nabulsi, a late Hanafi jurist and polymath. Blending between madhabs in a manner which would render the action impermissible in any one of them is not allowed. (Abdul-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Khulasat al-Tahqiq Fi Bayan Hukm al-Taqlid wa al-Talfiq)
For example, in wudhu, if one were to claim a state of purity after touching the hand of one’s wife (nullifier in the Shafi’i madhab) and noting blood flowing from a cut (nullifier in the Hanafi madhab), then this would lead to talfiq madhmum – a blameworthy/inadmissible blending.
Likewise, in the traveller’s prayer, to combine two prayers in a single prayer time after the period of travel mandated by the Shafi’i madhab would lead to a similar predicament of an action not accepted in either school.
For a non-specialist, the decision to take another madhab’s position as a dispensation stems from hardship. This means that during the period of travel, there may only be a few to no occasions which unavoidably demand taking the dispensation. The differences between the legal schools are a mercy for the Umma but should be respected and approached with caution.
We will be asked about prayer before all else on the Day of Judgement. Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, “The first thing about which the people will be called to account out of their actions on the Day of Judgment is the prayer.” [Abu Dawud]
Please also see: https://seekersguidance.org/answers/general-counsel/follow-another-madhhab-traveling/
And Allah knows best.
[Ustadh] Nail Kandi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani