Two nafl rak‘as after witr with the intention of tahajjud

Question

A person is accustomed to praying tahajjud at the end of the night, but at the time of ‘isha’, after the witr, he also prays two rak‘as of nafl with the intention (niyya) of tahajjud. Is this correct or not?

Answer

Tahajjud, in its essence, is [the prayer] one performs after rising from sleep, once half the night has passed. The two [rak‘as] after the witr are nafl, not tahajjud; however, making the niyya of tahajjud in these two nafl rak‘as will not spoil the prayer either.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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