Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, Shaykh. I was combining the Thuhr and ‘Asr prayer at the time of the Thuhr, and the azan for the ‘Asr started while I was still praying the ‘Asr. Are my prayers valid? Do I need to repeat them? If yes, then only the ‘Asr, or the Thuhr also? Also, I suffer from illnesses that require the renewal of ablution for every obligatory prayer, so I also worry about the fact that I had done one ablution, as I had to combine the Thuhr and the ‘Asr, and that took place. I had a rough idea that maybe the azan would be called, but I still went ahead. Please advice. May Allah reward you, Shaykh.

All perfect praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger. 

If you are suffering from incontinence, as can be understood from the question, then there are different statements for the scholars of Fiqh regarding a person who is in a continuous state of losing ablution, like a woman who has bleeding outside the monthly menses and the one who suffers from incontinence; if the time of the prayer expires while he is praying, does he have to repeat his ablution and prayer because his ablution became invalid by the expiry of the time of the prayer or not?

Some scholars said that his ablution is invalidated and that he is obliged to perform it anew, as well as the prayer, because his ablution is invalidated by the expiry of the time of the prayer.

The Hanafi scholar Al-Kaasaani said in his book Badaa’i’ As-Sanaa’i’:

“If the woman who has bleeding outside the monthly menses performs ablution while she is bleeding, or if she bleeds after having performed ablution but before the time of the prayer has expired and then the time of the prayer expires while she is in prayer, she must repeat the prayer because her ablution is invalidated by the expiry of the time of the prayer before she finishes the prayer. Her purification is invalidated as well as her prayer, and she does not continue her prayer as her purification became invalidated when the time of the prayer expired…”

The Hanbali scholar Al-Mardaawi said in Al-Insaaf, after determining that the Tayammum (dry ablution) is invalidated by the expiry of the time of the prayer even if one is in the prayer, “The same thing applies to a woman who has bleeding outside the monthly menses if the time of the prayer expires while she is in prayer.”

The Fiqh Encyclopedia reads, “Ablution is invalidated by the expiry of the time of the prayer according to the Shaafi'is, the Hanbalis, Abu Haneefah, and Muhammad (the companion of Abu Haneefah).”

However, some scholars are of the view that ablution is not invalidated by the expiry of the time (of the prayer), so it is not obligatory on a person who suffers from incontinence to perform ablution and repeat the prayer if the time has expired while he is in prayer. But the first view is better in order to be on the safe side. So it is safer for you to repeat the ‘Asr prayer. As for the Thuhr prayer, it is valid and there is no problem with it as it took place during its prescribed time.

Allah knows best.