Question: How should a person who has qada salats make intention for the sunnat salats of the five daily salats?
ANSWER
[To carry out a salat within its prescribed time period is called adaa. To carry it out after its prescribed time has ended is called qada. Throughout this article, we will use the verb make up to mean to do qada of a salat.]

Even if one does not have any qada salats, there is nothing wrong with performing sunnat salats with the intention of qada salats. Thus, one will have made up the salats in which one may have committed something makruh or in which one may have unknowingly done something that nullified salat. When one performs a salat in addition to current fard salat, one is considered to have performed the sunnat salat as well. That is, if one who does not have any qada salats performs sunnat salats with the intention of qada salats, one will be considered to have performed sunnat salats as well. There is no difference in the way a person who does not have any qada salats and a person who has qada salats make intention for sunnat salats. I will write below how one should intend for each sunnat salat:

Intention (niyyah) for the pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr:

One must perform the pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr without any change in intention.

Intention for pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat az-Zuhr:

One should intend "Of all the Zuhr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Zuhr salat" and perform it in the same way as one performs Salat az-Zuhr. Thus, one will be considered to have performed the pre-fard sunnat salat as well. If one has any qada salat of Salat az-Zuhr, this salat will be counted as its qada salat. If one, in one's intention, also adds "I intend performing pre-fard sunnat salat of the current Salat az-Zuhr," one will earn an extra reward (thawab) for one's intention. Besides, if one includes in one's intention Tahiyyat al-Wudu' (if one has just performed wudu') and Tahiyyat al-Masjid (if one is in the mosque), one will earn a separate reward for each intention. It is good to combine multiple intentions. By doing so, one will be considered to have performed all these nafila salats in addition to the qada salat.

Intention for post-fard sunnat salat of Salat az-Zuhr:

One should intend "Of all the Fajr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Fajr salat" and perform it in the same way as one performs the fard salat of Salat al-Fajr. By doing so, one has performed an extra salat in addition to the fard salat, and it will be counted as the sunnat salat of Salat az-Zuhr, too. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing post-fard sunnat salat of Salat az-Zuhr," one will also earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Asr:

One should intend "Of all the Asr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Asr salat" and perform it in the same way as one performs the fard salat of Salat al-Asr. By doing so, one has performed an extra salat in addition to the fard salat, and it will be counted as the sunnat salat of Salat al-Asr, too. If one has any qada salats, this salat will be counted as a qada salat. If one does not have any qada salats, this salat will be considered the sunnat salat. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing the pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Asr," one will also earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for the sunnat salat of Salat al-Maghrib:

One should intend "Of all the Maghrib salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Maghrib salat" and perform it as three rak'ats just in the same way as one performs the fard salat of Salat al-Maghrib. If one has any qada salats, this salat will be considered a qada salat. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing post-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Asr," one will also earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Isha:

One should intend "Of all the Isha salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Isha salat." By doing so, one has performed a qada salat of Isha salat if one has any. If one does not have any qada salats, one is still considered to have performed the sunnat salat. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing the pre-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Isha," one will also earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for post-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Isha:

One should intend "Of all the Witr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Witr salat" and perform it as three rak'ats just in the same way as one performs Witr salat. By doing so, one has performed an extra salat in addition to the fard salat, and it will be counted as the sunnat salat of Salat al-Isha. One has performed a qada salat if one has any. If one does not have any qada salats, one is still considered to have performed the sunnat salat. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing post-fard sunnat salat of Salat al-Isha," one will also earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for Salat al-Awwabin:

After Salat al-Maghrib, if one performs two qada salats of Salat al-Maghrib (6 rak'ats in total), one will be considered to have performed Salat al-Awwabin as well. If one performs these salats with the intention of both making up qada salats and performing Salat al-Awwabin, one will earn an extra reward for one's intention.

Intention for Salat at-Tahajjud:

If one wants to perform two rak'ats of Salat at-Tahajjud at night, one should intend "Of all the Fajr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Fajr salat." If one has qada salats of Salat al-Fajr, this salat will be counted as a qada salat. As one has performed a salat at night, one is considered to have performed Salat at-Tahajjud as well. If one does not have any qada salats, this salat will stand for Salat at-Tahajjud. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing Salat at-Tahajjud," one will earn a separate reward for one's intention.

Intention for Salat ad-Duha:

If one wants to perform four rak'ats of Salat ad-Duha, one should intend "Of all the Zuhr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Zuhr salat." If one has any qada salats of Salat az-Zuhr, it will be considered a qada salat. As one performs it at the time for Salat ad-Duha, one is considered to have performed Salat ad-Duha as well. If one does not have any qada salats of Salat az-Zuhr, then it will count as Salat ad-Duha. If one includes in one's intention "I intend performing Salat ad-Duha," one will earn a separate reward for one's intention.

Intention for Zuhr-i Akhir:

One should intend "I intend performing the last Salat az-Zuhr that I have not performed though I have reached the time of it" or "I intend performing the last Salat az-Zuhr that has become fard on me but I have not performed." If one's Salat al-Jumu'ah is valid, one's Zuhr-i Akhir is considered the performance of the last Salat az-Zuhr one missed. If one's Salat al-Jumu'ah is not valid, one's Zuhr-i Akhir will count as the current Salat az-Zuhr. For this reason, one must perform Zuhr-i Akhir without fail. If one, when intending for Zuhr-i Akhir, intends "I intend performing the first Salat az-Zuhr …" instead of "I intend performing the last Salat az-Zuhr …," then of all the Zuhr salats that one have to do qada of, one will have done qada of the first Zuhr salat, so one will not have performed the current Zuhr salat. Therefore, one should not neglect to intend as we mentioned above. If one's Salat al-Jumu'ah is valid and if one does not have any qada salats of Salat az-Zuhr, then one will earn the reward for a nafila salat for performing Zuhr-i Akhir.

Intention for Salat at-Tarawih:

If one performs an entire day's qada salats in one go (20 rak'ats), they are counted as Salat at-Tarawih as well. However, in order to earn a separate reward for intention as well, one should intend for qada salat of Salat al-Fajr, "Of all Fajr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend doing qada of the first Fajr salat and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Fajr salat.

When intending for Salat az-Zuhr, one should intend "Of all the Zuhr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend performing the first Zuhr salat and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Zuhr salat.

When intending for Salat al-Asr, one should intend "Of all the Asr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend performing the first Asr salat and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Asr salat.

When intending for Salat al-Maghrib, one should intend "Of all the Maghrib salats that I have to do qada of, I intend performing the first Maghrib salat and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Maghrib salat.

When intending for Salat al-Isha, one should intend "Of all the Isha salats that I have to do qada of, I intend performing the first Isha salat and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Isha salat.

When intending for Salat al-Witr, one should intend "Of all the Witr salats that I have to do qada of, I intend performing the first Witr salat, which is wajib, and also intend performing Salat at-Tarawih." One must perform it in the same way as one performs Witr salat.

Performing Salat at-Tarawih in jama'at is sunnat-i kifaya. That is, if there are people performing it in jama'at, the sunnat is considered to have been carried out. If one is performing it at home, then one should perform it with the intention of both performing Salat at-Tarawih and performing qada salats. As both Salat at-Tarawih and an entire day's qada salats consist of 20 rak'ats, one who performs a day's qada salats is considered to have performed Salat at-Tarawih as well. One can say between qada salats the prescribed du'as made during break time in Salat at-Tarawih. When certain people perform Salat at-Tarawih in jama’at in the mosque or in a house, one who has debts of qada salats or who cannot trust that the imam’s salat is acceptable performs Salat at-Tarawih in jama’at in order to guide the young beginners of salat and to accustom them to performing salat and to prevent gossip or fitna. In the Shafi'i Madhhab, as it is permissible to follow an imam who is performing a salat different from the follower's salat, a Shafiite can perform qada salats by following an imam performing Salat at-Tarawih. However, followers of the other three madhhabs are not allowed to make use of this rule of the Shafi'i Madhhab. Only a Shafiite can perform them this way.

Question: Though we can perform sunnat salats with the intention of qada salats, why can we not perform the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr with the intention of both a sunnat salat and a qada salat?
ANSWER
The sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr is considerably emphasized when compared with the other sunnat salats. According to some scholars, the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr is wajib. For this reason, if there is no excuse, it is not permissible to perform sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr by sitting on the floor or on an animal. (Durr-ul-Mukhtar)

It is permissible to perform nafila salats by sitting even if one does not have any excuse. Only the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr is exempted from this rule. (Maraqi al-Falah)

According to Nihaya, Hazain, and the other books, there were scholars who said that the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr was wajib. (Radd-ul-Mukhtar)

It is stated in hadith-i sharifs:
(Do not abandon the two-rak'at sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr even if riders chase you.) [Abu Dawud]

(Salat al-Witr and the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr are fard [obligatory] on me.) [Imam-i Ahmad, Tabarani]

(The two-rak'at sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr is better than the world and all that which is in it.) [Muslim, Tirmidhi, Imam-i Ahmad]

Hadrat Aisha, our blessed mother, said, "The Messenger of Allah attached far more importance to the two-rak'at nafila salat of Salat al-Fajr than he did to the other nafila salats" (Bukhari).

It was reported that the Messenger of Allah, after the two-rak'at nafila salat of Salat al-Fajr, attached importance to the four-rak'at pre-fard nafila salat of Salat az-Zuhr. (Bukhari)

Due to the reasons mentioned above, the sunnat salat of Salat al-Fajr is not performed with the intention of a qada salat.