Intending “one’s own nafl” in a nafl prayer

Question

A person has for a long time been making the intention for a nafl prayer like this: “I have intended two rak‘as of nafl prayer — a nafl for myself, for Allah Most High, my face toward the noble Ka‘ba, the time such-and-such.” Does this way fall under shirk or not?

Answer

What this means is that Allah has not made the nafl obligatory, so there is no accountability for not praying it; rather, it is my own right: if I pray it, I will receive reward, and if I do not, I will remain deprived of the reward. Therefore this is not shirk, and such a person will not be called a mushrik.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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