Does undergoing surgery under anesthesia break the fast?
Anesthesia itself does not break the fast because anesthetic gases have no physical substance (jirm), and subcutaneous anesthesia injections do not reach the body cavity (jauf). However, this is on condition that the person is conscious at some point during the fasting hours:
● If they were awake at the beginning of the day, their fast remains valid.
● If they wake up even for a moment before sunset, their fast is also valid.
However, if the surgery involves the entry of foreign substances into the body cavity, their fast is invalidated, and they must make up for that day later.
What is the age of the Aqiqa or the Udhiyah?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
The minimum age for a sacrificial animal (Udhiyah) and the birth sacrifice (Aqiqa) is as follows:
Camels: Five years old, entering their sixth year.
Cattle and Goats: Two years old, entering their third year.
Sheep: One year old, entering their second year; however, it is permissible for a sheep to be six months old provided it is large in size and plump.
And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Does post-natal bleeding (Nifas) stop before forty days after childbirth?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Yes, post-natal bleeding (Nifas) can cease before the completion of forty days. If the bleeding stops completely and its return is not expected, the woman has attained ritual purity (Taharah), even if forty days have not yet passed. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj, Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
