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It is impermissible to combine the Taraweeh and making up for missed prayers in the same prayer

Question

Is it permissible to perform the Taraweeh prayers with the combined intention of making up for missed obligatory prayers and the Taraweeh? Is it permissible to combine the intentions for performing the Tahajjud prayers, Qiyaam and Sunan Rawaatib?

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is impermissible to combine the intention for missed prayers with the Taraweeh prayers (i.e. night prayers in Ramadan). Scholars stated that there is no harm in combining two intentions for one act of worship as long as they are overlapped such as the Friday Ghusl and the Ghusl of Janaabah (i.e. ritual bath of purification from post sexual-intercourse impurity) or Janaabah and menstruation (for women). Another example is combining a specific voluntary prayer such as the Salah of Tahiyyatul-Masjid (i.e. salutation to the mosque) with a general voluntary or obligatory prayer.

Combining intentions to observe two independent acts of worship while each of which is required to be done individually and neither can be included within the other, such as the Thuhr and Taraweeh prayers, is invalid. This is because these two acts of worship cannot be considered parts of one another.

This includes Tahajjud prayers (i.e. optional night prayers), Qiyaam (i.e. night worship), Sunan Ar-Rawaatib (i.e. regular voluntary prayers) and other voluntary acts of worship.

We would like to highlight that some scholars believed that if someone has to make up for a missed prayer or fast, he is not allowed to perform voluntary acts of worship, prayers or fasts until after making up for the missed obligatory ones first. The Maaliki scholar, Al-Akhdhari  may  Allaah  have  mercy  upon  him said, "One should not perform voluntary acts of worship until after making up for the missed obligatory ones."

Hence, it is impermissible for you to combine the intentions for making up missed obligatory prayers and Tahajjud, Qiyaam and Sunan Rawaatib in the same prayer. You should also not perform voluntary prayers, except for the Witr and ‘Eed prayers, until you perform all the missed obligatory prayers first.

Allaah Knows best.

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