Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
Can a traveller combine prayers without shortening them?
Walaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful and Compassionate.
Yes, it is permitted for the traveller to take the dispensation of combining prayers alone without shortening the prayers. It is also permitted for them to shorten alone without joining, and also to do both.
Likewise, it is permitted for them to leave both dispensations and to perform each prayer in its time, without shortening. They have free choice regarding all the above. [As mentioned in Nawawi’s Minhaj and its commentaries]
Amjad Rasheed
(Translated by Faraz Rabbani)