Combining intentions for fasting

by Asma bint Shameem 🌿 ANSWER🌿

We cannot fast shawwaal fasts with the combined intention of making up Ramadhaan fasts because the shawwaal fasts are SPECIFIC and CONNECTED to the Ramadhaan fasts.

And it’s not allowed to combine any act of ibaadah that’s specific or connected to another act of ibaadah.

An example of that is the Fajr Salaah.

You can NOT combine the two rak’ah Sunnah with the two rak'ah Fardh.

Why?

Because the Sunnah is SPECIFIC and CONNECTED to the Fatdh prayer.

However you CAN combine a NON SPECIFIC Ibaadah with a specific one.

So you can for example, combine the intention of praying the Sunnah of Fajr with Tahiyyatul Masjid.

Thats because Tahiyyatul masjid is a NON SPECIFIC prayer that is supposed to be read when you enter a masjid and is not connected to any act of ibaadah.

Tahiyyatul masjid is ANY two rak’aat prayer when you enter a masjid.

And that act of ibaadah is fulfilled by praying two rak'ah in ANY form.

Therefore the duty of praying Tahiyyatul masjid is FULFILLED by praying ANY prayer.

Similarly we CAN combine the intention of fasts that we owed from Ramadhaan with the fasts of Muharram because the fasts of Muharram are NONSPECIFIC.

And it’s GENERALLY recommended to fast in Muharram.

However, the fasts of shawwaal are SPECIFIC and connected to Ramadhaan and therefore they can NOT be combined with any other fasts.

The hadeeth about fasting shawwaal specifically states:

“Whoever fasts Ramadhaan and THEN fasts the six days of shawwaal....”

So they’re specific and connected to Ramadhaan.

🍃 Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said:

“If a person fasts the day of ‘Arafah or the day of ‘Ashoora’, and he still owes fasts from Ramadhaan, his fast will be valid, but if he intended to fast that day to make up for a missed Ramadhaan fast, he will have two rewards: the reward of the day of ‘Arafah or the day of ‘Ashoora’, and the reward for making up the missed fast.

This applies to voluntary fasts in general, that have nothing to do with Ramadhaan.

But with regard to the six days of Shawwaal, they are connected to Ramadhaan, and can only be done after making it up.

If a person fasts these days before making up missed Ramadhaan fasts, he will not attain the reward for them, because the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam

said:

“Whoever fasts Ramadhaan then follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime.”

And it is well known that if a person owes missed fasts, then he cannot be regarded as having fasted Ramadhaan until he completes the days that he owes.”

(Fataawa as-Siyaam (438)

And Allaah knows best.