{"_id":"66e223bb44ff6b092d439b91","title":"{\"ops\":[{\"insert\":\"Can you change your intention during the prayer?\"}]}","question":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Is it possible to change your نية for a salah while performing it? For example, suppose you are about to start praying Fajr, and your intention was to pray the 2 mandatory rakaat only and not the 2 sunnah rakaat followed by the 2 mandatory rakaat. While performing the salah, is it possible to change your intention so that the salah you are currently performing counts as sunnah and then you perform the other 2 mandatory rakaat after you are done?\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"}]}","answer":"{\"ops\":[{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"That's an excellent question, and to provide a comprehensive response, I will focus specifically on the Shafi school of law. Given the nature of the question, a detailed understanding within a particular school is necessary. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"The intention in prayer serves the purpose of specifying the type of prayer being performed, such as whether it is fardh (obligatory) or sunna (recommended), whether it is fajr or maghrib, sunna of fajr, witr, dhuha, etc. The intention is fixed at the beginning of the prayer. \"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Once the prayer begins, it is generally not permissible to cancel the prayer or change the intention unless there is a valid reason.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"Regarding changing the intention, there are a few scenarios that can be considered as examples of a \\\"valid reason\\\" to do so. For instance, if someone starts praying a specific fardh prayer, believing that its prescribed time has entered, but then realizes in the middle of the prayer that it is not yet time, they can change the intention to a \\\"nafl mutlaq\\\" (general voluntary) prayer and complete the prayer with that intention. Another scenario is when a person is in the masjid waiting for the Isha prayer to begin, then decides to pray on their own because the imam is taking his sweet time, then after he starts praying Isha, they call the iqama. He can convert his prayer into a \\\"nafl mutlaq\\\" prayer, complete one, two, or three rakas, and join the congregation.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"},{\"attributes\":{\"color\":\"#000000\",\"background\":\"transparent\"},\"insert\":\"However, in the example you mentioned where a person starts praying with the intention of performing the obligatory (fardh) fajr prayer, but then decides to change their intention midway to perform the sunna prayer instead, according to the principles mentioned earlier, it would not be permissible. This is because there is no valid reason to alter the intention in this case, as one can simply perform the sunna prayer after completing the obligatory prayer. In other words, it would not be allowed to cancel or modify the fardh prayer solely for the purpose of praying the sunna prayer first.\"},{\"insert\":\"\\n\\n\"}]}","tags":[{"_id":"668d9fe30b76658b4c23281e","tag":"Salah: Other","count":138},{"_id":"668d9ff20b76658b4c2329d9","tag":"Worship: Intention","count":103},{"_id":"668da0170b76658b4c232de6","tag":"Salah: Special & Sunnah","count":69}],"createdOn":"2024-09-11T23:11:55.414Z"}