The ruling on connecting one prayer to another and the separation between them

Question:
Abu Malik says: Shaykh, regarding the prohibition of connecting one prayer to another unless the one praying speaks or moves, is the intention limited to connecting a voluntary prayer to an obligatory one, or does the prohibition also apply to connecting one voluntary prayer to another? And is the intended meaning of "speech" the speech of people, or is it seeking forgiveness?

Answer:
It appears, and Allah knows best, that the intention is connecting the obligatory prayer to the voluntary prayer, so that one who sees it does not think the obligatory prayer was not completed. This is the custom among people: when one says the closing salam and immediately enters into a voluntary prayer, they assume it is part of the obligatory prayer. Therefore, there must be a separation between them. The separation is achieved by what came in the hadith, or by speech. Speech, whether it is permissible speech between people, or exchanging greetings among them, or by the remembrance of Allah the Exalted. If one recites the dhikr after the obligatory prayer, the separation is achieved.