Answered by Shaykh Amjad Rasheed
Is it permissible in our school to combine two intentions in a single prayer, e.g., making up a missed prayer and the sunnah of dhuhr? If not, which is better to pray?
Yes, it is permissible to do this in some prayers, these being:
- the prayer of greeting the mosque,
- the two rak‘ahs after circumambulation (Ar. tawaf),
- the two rak‘ahs of ihram,
- the post-wudu sunnah [m: prayer],
- the prayer of heedlessness (Ar. ghaflah), which is offered between maghrib and isha ([m: also known as salatul-awwabeen]),
- the guidance prayer (Ar. istikhara),
- the prayer of need (Ar. hajah),
- the zenith prayer (Ar. zawal),
- the prayer upon returning from a journey,
- the prayer before embarking upon a journey, and
- the prayer of repentance (Ar. tawbah).
It is permissible to combine all the above prayers in two units of prayer by intending them all. It is [m: also] permissible to combine all or some of the above with an obligatory prayer or an optional prayer, such as a ratibah [1] or the forenoon prayer (Ar. duha). However, it is not permissible to combine two obligatory prayers or an obligatory prayer with a ratibah, as mentioned in the question. Nor is it permissible to combine one ratibah with another, nor a ratibah with the forenoon prayer, witr, or taraweeh.
[m: As for whether a make-up prayer takes precedence over a ratibah, as posed in the question: if the make-up is an obligatory prayer, then it takes precedence.]
Amjad Rasheed
Amman, Jordan
(Translated by Moustafa Elqabbany)
Notes:
[1] [m: The rawatib (pl. of ratibah) are the optional prayers connected with the obligatory prayers, such as the two rak‘ahs before fajr. They are listed in Reliance of the Traveller, f10.2.]