Can he pray two rak‘ahs with more than one niyyah (intention)?
Question

                Is it possible to combine intentions when offering a naafil (supererogatory) prayer, such as praying two rak‘ahs with the intention that they be a naafil prayer including the two rak‘ahs following wudoo’ and the Sunnah prayer following Maghrib?
Praise be to Allah.
	Combining of 
	acts of worship falls into two categories:

	The first 
	category:

	The first 
	category includes acts of worship where it is valid to combine those acts. 
	The guideline concerning that is that one of the two acts of worship is not 
	intended for its own sake. In this case it is permissible to combine them, 
	so that one deed counts as two.

	An example of 
	that is the two rak‘ahs to “greet the mosque” (tahiyyat al-masjid) and the 
	two rak‘ahs following wudoo’, and similar prayers that are not intended for 
	their own sake. So it is permissible for a person to pray two rak‘ahs with 
	the intention of offering the two rak‘ahs following wudoo’ and the Sunnah 
	prayer of Maghrib, as the questioner mentioned, because the purpose of the 
	two rak‘ahs following wudoo’ is so that the Muslim prays straight after 
	making wudoo’, whether it is his regular prayer or Duha prayer or some other 
	prayer.

	Another example 
	of that is “greeting the mosque” (tahiyyat al-masjid), because the purpose 
	of this prayer is that the one who has entered the mosque does not sit down 
	until he has prayed.

	Shaykh Khaalid 
	al-Mushayqih said: “Greeting the mosque” is not a prayer that is intended 
	for its own sake, so it may be combined with another prayer, such as the 
	regular Sunnah prayer. So if you enter the mosque to pray Zuhr, then you can 
	pray two rak‘ahs with the intention of the regular Sunnah prayer and with 
	the intention of greeting the mosque. If you intend to greet the mosque and 
	to offer the regular Sunnah prayer, you will attain the reward of two 
	prayers in two rak‘ahs. If you do wudoo’ and come to the mosque with the 
	intention of offering the regular Sunnah prayer and greeting the mosque and 
	praying the two rak‘ahs following wudoo’, then you will attain the reward of 
	three prayers in two rak‘ahs. This is one of the benefits of forming the 
	intention. Similarly, if a person does wudoo’ for Duha, then prays two 
	rak‘ahs, intending them to be the two rak‘ahs following wudoo’ and the two 
	rak‘ahs of Duha, he will attain the reward of two prayers in two rak‘ahs.

	End quote from
	al-‘Aqd ath-Thameen (p. 161).

	The second 
	category:

	The second 
	category includes cases where combining acts of worship is not allowed. That 
	is if each of the two acts of worship is intended for its own sake. In this 
	case it is not possible to combine two intentions for one action.

	Shaykh Ibn 
	‘Uthaymeen gave an example of that. He said: A man missed the Sunnah prayer 
	of Fajr, until the sun rose and the time for Duha prayer came. In this case, 
	the Sunnah of Fajr cannot suffice for Duha prayer, and Duha cannot suffice 
	for the Sunnah of Fajr, and they cannot be combined either, because the 
	Sunnah of Fajr is separate and the Sunnah of Duha is separate. Doing one of 
	them does not suffice for the other.

	Similarly, if 
	one of them is connected to the one that came before it, then they cannot be 
	combined. If someone were to say: I want to form the intention to combine 
	the obligatory prayer of Fajr and the regular Sunnah of Fajr, we say: That 
	is not valid, because the regular Sunnah prayer is connected to the 
	(obligatory) prayer, so doing one of them does not suffice for the other.

	And he said: A 
	similar example is the Sunnah prayer following tawaf and the Sunnah prayer 
	of Fajr. For example, if a person finishes his tawaf after the adhaan for 
	Fajr prayer and before the iqaamah, and he intends to combine the Sunnah 
	prayer of tawaf with the Sunnah prayer of Fajr, this is not valid, because 
	doing one of them does not suffice for the other, because the Sunnah of 
	tawaf is to be intended for its own sake, and the Sunnah of Fajr is to be 
	intended for its own sake.

	End quote from
	Liqaa’aat al-Baab al-Maftooh.

	As-Suyooti said, 
	quoting an-Nawawi: … If one of the two sunnahs is not implied by the other, 
	then the intentions thereof should not be combined in one act, such as the 
	Sunnah prayer of Duha and making up the Sunnah of Fajr. This is unlike 
	greeting the mosque and the Sunnah of Zuhr, for example, because greeting 
	the mosque may be implied and included in the Sunnah of Zuhr.

	End quote from
	al-Ashbaah wa’n-Nazaa’ir (p. 23).

	See also: al-Majmoo‘ 
	Sharh al-Muhadhdhab (5/75)

	One of those who 
	explained this principle in great detail was al-‘Allaamah ibn Rajab (may 
	Allah have mercy on him) in his book al-Qawaa‘id (p. 23)

	And Allah knows 
	best.