I am appearing for exams during 1st weeks of December and the timing is 14:00 to 17:00 and the Asr prayer falls within this time. Is it allowed to perform Asr with Zuhr as Jama'a (combining the two prayers)?

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions. Allah Who made prayers obligatory determined fixed times for them. They should not be performed before those times or after them except for an excuse accepted by Shariah like traveling. Allah Says (interpretation of meaning): {…Verily, As-Salat (the prayer) is enjoined on the believers at fixed hours.}[ 4:103]. So, combining prayers for no legal excuse is forbidden in Shariah as it contradicts the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Attending exams is not a sound Shariah excuse that allows combining prayers. So, it is unlawful for you to combine Asr and Zuhr or to delay praying Asr until its fixed time exceeds, just for the above excuse. Rather, you should pray it in its fixed time if water and a clean place are available. Otherwise, you get ready for the prayer before going into the exam hall and take a rug with you so that you pray Asr as soon as its fixed time enters. Know also that adhering to praying the obligatory prayers in their fixed times can be a cause for your success and for making difficult things easy for you. Allah knows best.