Is it permissible to perform a single act of worship with more than one intention?
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The questioner : Is it permissible for a person to perform a single act with more than one intention? For example, taking a bath on Friday for the Friday bath and for the bath of major ritual impurity with two intentions, or performing a single act with more than one intention. The opposite case is performing the greeting of the mosque, the pre-prayer sunnah, for example, and the prayer for guidance in a decision, is it permissible to do all of them with one intention?
The Shaykh : The question is clear, and the answer is as follows: If the act of worship that one intends to combine with another is obligatory, then one obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act. However, if one is obligatory and the other is recommended, then they can be performed with one act and two intentions.
The first case, for example, is that an obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act: A man who has to make up fasting for the month of Ramadan, or who has a vow to fast, and then the month of Ramadan comes, so he intends to fast the month of Ramadan on one hand, and to fulfill his vow on the other hand. He has a vow to fast a month, and he intends to fast this vow he owes while fasting for the month of Ramadan; this is not permissible, because one obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act.
We descend from this example to one of the examples mentioned in the question, the bath of major ritual impurity and the Friday bath; so whoever holds that the Friday bath is obligatory—and this is my opinion—then in that case, it does not suffice for him to perform one bath with two intentions, the intention of the bath of major ritual impurity and the intention of the Friday bath.
As for whoever holds—and this is the opinion of the majority—that the Friday bath is not obligatory, but rather a recommended practice, and that the purpose of it is cleanliness; if he takes the bath of major ritual impurity and intends with it the Friday bath, then that suffices for him, because the Friday bath is not obligatory in his view, unlike what we mentioned earlier, that whoever holds that the Friday bath is obligatory must, above all, take the bath of major ritual impurity first, then take another bath, and there is no objection if it is in the same place and immediately after he finishes the bath of major ritual impurity.
From this, the answer is understood from some of the other examples: A man, for example, enters to pray the greeting of the mosque; is it permissible for him to pray two rak'ahs that are the greeting of the mosque, the sunnah of the time, for example, and the sunnah of the ablution, as well, and similar examples that can be repeated and multiplied?
The answer is that this is possible, because these are from the category of recommended practices, not from the category of obligations. However, the thing that should be noted here in this permissible and possible case is that if a Muslim prays two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque, then prays two rak'ahs as the sunnah of the ablution, then prays two rak'ahs as the sunnah of the time, that is six rak'ahs; there is no doubt that these six rak'ahs have multiplied rewards, so the two rak'ahs are ten at least, and the next two rak'ahs are ten, and the last two rak'ahs are also ten; so the total is thirty good deeds, because a good deed is multiplied tenfold, and it may be multiplied further as stated in the authentic hadith:. If he combines these six rak'ahs into two rak'ahs, what is written for him? He is written ten good deeds plus two good deeds, two good deeds for the other two rak'ahs, the sunnah of the ablution and the sunnah of the time, for example; that is because the act accepts multiplication, whereas the intention does not accept multiplication. So in terms of the act, he prayed two rak'ahs, which are the greeting of the mosque, but in terms of intention, he had three intentions: the intention of the greeting, the intention of the sunnah of the ablution, and the intention of the sunnah of the time. So he is rewarded for what he did with ten good deeds or more, as we mentioned, and then he is rewarded for the other two intentions with the reward of the intention, which is a single reward, as in the previously mentioned hadith, where its completion includes his saying, (peace and blessings be upon him), about his Lord, (Blessed and Exalted is He): Sahih Ibn Hibban 6:75.
Therefore, it is permissible to combine these intentions as long as they are not all obligatory, but with the observation that the intention coupled with the act accepts multiplication, whereas the intention detached from the act does not accept multiplication.
This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh : The question is clear, and the answer is as follows: If the act of worship that one intends to combine with another is obligatory, then one obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act. However, if one is obligatory and the other is recommended, then they can be performed with one act and two intentions.
The first case, for example, is that an obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act: A man who has to make up fasting for the month of Ramadan, or who has a vow to fast, and then the month of Ramadan comes, so he intends to fast the month of Ramadan on one hand, and to fulfill his vow on the other hand. He has a vow to fast a month, and he intends to fast this vow he owes while fasting for the month of Ramadan; this is not permissible, because one obligatory act does not suffice for another obligatory act.
We descend from this example to one of the examples mentioned in the question, the bath of major ritual impurity and the Friday bath; so whoever holds that the Friday bath is obligatory—and this is my opinion—then in that case, it does not suffice for him to perform one bath with two intentions, the intention of the bath of major ritual impurity and the intention of the Friday bath.
As for whoever holds—and this is the opinion of the majority—that the Friday bath is not obligatory, but rather a recommended practice, and that the purpose of it is cleanliness; if he takes the bath of major ritual impurity and intends with it the Friday bath, then that suffices for him, because the Friday bath is not obligatory in his view, unlike what we mentioned earlier, that whoever holds that the Friday bath is obligatory must, above all, take the bath of major ritual impurity first, then take another bath, and there is no objection if it is in the same place and immediately after he finishes the bath of major ritual impurity.
From this, the answer is understood from some of the other examples: A man, for example, enters to pray the greeting of the mosque; is it permissible for him to pray two rak'ahs that are the greeting of the mosque, the sunnah of the time, for example, and the sunnah of the ablution, as well, and similar examples that can be repeated and multiplied?
The answer is that this is possible, because these are from the category of recommended practices, not from the category of obligations. However, the thing that should be noted here in this permissible and possible case is that if a Muslim prays two rak'ahs as the greeting of the mosque, then prays two rak'ahs as the sunnah of the ablution, then prays two rak'ahs as the sunnah of the time, that is six rak'ahs; there is no doubt that these six rak'ahs have multiplied rewards, so the two rak'ahs are ten at least, and the next two rak'ahs are ten, and the last two rak'ahs are also ten; so the total is thirty good deeds, because a good deed is multiplied tenfold, and it may be multiplied further as stated in the authentic hadith:
If My servant intends to do a good deed and does it, then write it down for him as ten good deeds, up to a hundred good deeds, up to seven hundred, up to many multiples, and Allah multiplies for whom He wills.
إذا همَّ عبدي بحسنة فعملها ؛ فاكتبوها له عشر حسنات ، إلى مائة حسنة ، إلى سبعمائة ، إلى أضعاف كثيرة ، والله يضاعف لمن يشاءAnd if My servant intends to do a good deed but does not do it, then write it down for him as one good deed.
وإذا همَّ عبدي بحسنة فلم يعملها ؛ فاكتبوها له حسنةTherefore, it is permissible to combine these intentions as long as they are not all obligatory, but with the observation that the intention coupled with the act accepts multiplication, whereas the intention detached from the act does not accept multiplication.
This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Source
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