Is it valid to combine the intention of making up missed fasts with the intention of fasting the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah?

Question:
My sister, the questioner, asks: Is it permissible to fast the days of Dhu al-Hijjah and its beginning, and is that considered making up missed fasts?

Answer:
If she means making up a fast that is obligatory upon her, such as a fast from Ramadan, then it does not count as fasting the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah. The first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah are a prescribed act in their own right, and making up missed fasts is a prescribed act in its own right. So she has to do both: make up the obligatory fasts she owes, and it is recommended for her to fast the first ten days of Dhu al-Hijjah, because she needs to do good deeds.