The five daily prayers are obligatory at specific times, and performing them within their prescribed times is the foundation of the obligation. Allah says: “Indeed, prayer has been prescribed upon the believers at fixed times.” (4:103). This establishes that each prayer has a defined time that should not be altered without a valid Sharʿi reason.

The jurists differed regarding combining prayers (jamʿ). The majority of scholars (Maliki, Shāfiʿi, and Hanbali) allow combining Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr, and Maghrib and ʿIshā’, in cases such as travel, illness, rain, or comparable hardship. The Hanafi school generally does not permit combining outside of ʿArafah and Muzdalifah, except in the form of praying one at the end of its time and the next at the beginning of its time (jamʿ ṣūrī).

There is also the well-known narration of Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā) that “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ combined Ẓuhr and ʿAṣr, and Maghrib and ʿIshā’ in Madinah without fear and without rain.” It was said to Ibn ʿAbbās, “Why did he do that?” He replied: “He did not want to cause hardship for his Ummah.” (Muslim). This hadith is relied upon by many scholars to show that combining may be allowed in cases of genuine hardship even outside travel.

However, the scholars explained that this was not a regular practice but an occasional concession to remove hardship. It was not meant to replace the norm of praying within fixed times, but to provide relief in circumstances of real difficulty.

In the case described, a temporary one-week night shift does not automatically rise to the level of travel or illness. Therefore, the preferred and stronger ruling remains that each prayer should be prayed within its prescribed time. A practical solution would be to pray Ẓuhr toward the end of its time and ʿAṣr at its beginning, then sleep, thereby fulfilling the obligation without formally combining.

However, if there is genuine hardship that reaches a level where severe exhaustion would endanger patients, impair judgment in a critical medical setting, or cause real harm, then the concession mentioned in the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās may be applied according to the view of those scholars who allow combining for significant hardship. This should be limited to actual need and not treated as routine convenience.

The Prophet ﷺ said: “Indeed this religion is ease.” (Bukhari). Ease operates within the framework of obedience, and concessions are used when hardship is real.

Therefore, the recommended position is to maintain each prayer within its time as much as possible. If exceptional hardship arises during that week, limited combining may be taken according to the broader scholarly allowance, with the intention of necessity and not convenience.