Qadha should be accomplished before Nafl

Question ID: 
2052
ray***@gmail.com asks:

Question

Assalamualaikum,
If i have uncountable qaza namaz, to accomplish, mostly after every namaz i try to read one qaza, my question is while performing any nafl salat can i make
niyyat of nafl or i should just perform qaza? even at the time of tahajjud?
Jazakallah.

Answer

Wa alaikumus Salaam Warahmatullaahi wabarakaatuh

Qaza of farz namaz is obligatory, whereas to perform nafil is optional and sunnat muakkadah is emphasised. Therefore in your case, instead of reading nafil for now, it will be more appropriate to perform the qaza namaz with the intention of replacing a specific namaz missed before. The same ruling applies to tahajjud. In any case sunnat muakkadah shouldn’t be avoided.

It should be noted that farz namaz in itself is permanent, definite intention is necessary for the validation of farz namaz. Therefore, If intention of nafil is made along with farz namaz then only farz shall be valid and the intention of nafil shall be invalid.

Please note that once you are done with the qaza , you should carry on with the habit of performing nafil and tahajjud namaz because they are means to protect the farz namaz.

Approved by:
Mufti Usmaan
For the Jamiatul Ulama of Mauritius