Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.

According to the authentic Sunnah, it is commendable to fast the six days of Shawwal since Abu Ayub Al-Ansari narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever fasts Ramadan and follows it with six days of Shawwal is as though he has fasted the entire year." Anawawi said, "This Hadith explicitly indicates that fasting these days is commended bythe Shafie, Ahmad, Dawoud and others."{Shareh An-Nawawiala Muslim, Vol.8: P.56}.

Whoever is liable for obligatory fast, such as making up of missed fasts of Ramadan, an oath or an expiation and wanted to observe that fast as the six days of Shawwal, Shafie scholars have disagreed about this issue and arrived at two different views:

First view:It isn`t permissible to combine the intention of fasting on the six days of Shawwal with the intention of making up the missed fast days of Ramadan, an oath or an expiation because each is a separate act of worship. Therefore, it isn`t permissible to perform them with the same intention.

Second view: It is permissible to combine them with the same intention because the aim is to observe fast during those days. This is by analogy to the fact that mosque salutation {Sunnah} is attained with performing any prescribed prayer. In addition, this is by analogy to the fact that it is permissible to combine the intention of obligatory Ghusl with Friday Ghusl (Sunnah}. However, fasting the above with one intention doesn`t entail the same reward as fasting each with a separate intention. It is stated in Nehayat al-Mohtaaj, Vol.3: P. 208, "If he observes make up of obligatory fast or an oath during the month of Shawwal then he doesn`t get the full reward of observing each with a separate intention." Kindly refer to Hashiyat al-Sharqawiala at-Tahrir by Sheikh Zakaria al-Ansari, Vol.1:P.474.

In conclusion, we are of the view that combining the intention of fasting on the six days of Shawwal with the intention of making up missed fasts of Ramadan, an oath or an expiation is permissible. However, it is safer to observe each with a separate intention to receive the full reward and avoid the disagreement of the scholars. In addition, it is worth reminding that the intention of making up for Ramadan fasts must be made before dawn prayer while this isn`t a must for observing the fast of the six days of Shawwal. And Allah the Almighty knows best.