Ṣawm
[SAMPLE] Combining intentions for a single fast
The question, as it was putI have days to make up from Ramadan, but I also want to fast Mondays and Thursdays. Can one fast count for both?
The obligation takes precedence, and the sounder position is that the make-up fast is what is fulfilled. The intention must be for the obligatory fast, formed before dawn.
Whether the voluntary reward is additionally attained is a matter on which scholars have differed, and it is not something to build a practice around.
The more useful point is one of priority. A debt owed from Ramadan is an obligation with a deadline; voluntary fasting is not. Clearing what is owed first is both the safer course and the one that leaves the voluntary fasts unencumbered afterwards.
If you fast Mondays and Thursdays with the intention of making up Ramadan, you will have discharged the obligation within a few weeks and can then fast those days voluntarily with a clear record.
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