Is it permissible to delay the Dhuhr prayer—if its time has begun—for the purpose of traveling with the intention of combining and shortening prayers?

If you hear the Dhuhr adhan (definition) and intend to travel, you may delay Dhuhr to pray it shortened (qasr) and combined (jam') with Asr after you begin your journey, as long as you will travel before its time expires. The decisive factor is the act of prayer, not its time. So, whenever you perform the prayer while traveling, you shorten it, and whenever you perform it while resident, you complete it. It is a condition that the traveler begins shortening and combining after passing beyond all the houses of the village where he resides.