Praying Tarawih with the Intention of Witr

Question

If one mistakenly makes the intention for the sunna of Tarawih and prays Witr, the Witr is fulfilled — according to “al-Durr al-Mukhtar”, vol. 1, pp. 387–388. I often make the intention for Witr, thinking that the imam, having led twenty rak‘as of the sunna of Tarawih, is now leading Witr; then, when the imam begins the recitation (qira’a), it becomes clear that the imam is leading Tarawih. My prayer does not become fasid. Should I rather have broken the intention and made the intention for the sunna of Tarawih?

Answer

That the lower [in rank] is fulfilled as subordinate to the higher is explicitly stated [in the books of fiqh]; your Tarawih is fulfilled in this way as well. However, you should not be so inattentive as not to know whether it is Tarawih or Witr.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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