Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu. Shaykhs, can I start praying the Taraaweeh (voluntary night prayer during Ramadan) prayer before the time of the ʻIshaa’ starts if I combine the Maghrib and the ʻIshaa’ prayers at the Maghrib time? Or must I wait for the azan of the ʻIshaa’ in order to pray the Taraaweeh? May Allah reward you.

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, sallallahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

When a person combines the ʻIshaa’ and Maghrib prayers at the time of the Maghrib, it is permissible for him to perform the Taraweeh prayer before the time of the ʻIshaa’ starts. The fatwa of the Permanent Committee for Iftaa’ reads, “There is no harm in performing the Taraweeh prayers after the ʻIshaa’ prayer when it is combined with the Maghrib for a valid reason that allows for combining the prayers because there is no religious impediment to it.”

Ibn Baaz said, “If a person combines the Maghrib and the ʻIshaa’ prayers at the time of the Maghrib, he may perform the Taraweeh prayers afterward, and there is no problem with that. All praise be to Allah.” [Fataawa Noor ʻala Ad-Darb]

It should be noted that combining two prayers is impermissible except for a Shariah-acceptable reason such as traveling, sickness, rain, or the like. Shaykh Ibn ʻUthaymeen said, “If someone combines two prayers without a valid reason, he bears a sin for that and the prayer that he combined with the one preceding it is invalid and unacceptable; rather, he is required to repeat it.” [Majmoo’ Al-Fataawa]

Allah knows best.