Is it permissible to divide a single Sa‘ of Zakat al-Fitr—or its equivalent value in cash—among more than one poor person?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
Zakat al-Fitr is estimated at one Sa‘ per person, but the number of people to whom this Sa‘ can be given has not been specified. For this reason, it is permissible to distribute a single Sa‘ among more than one poor person. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
Is an elderly or chronically ill person required to pay additional fidyah if they delay it beyond the first year?
An elderly person or someone permanently unable to fast must pay fidyah by feeding one needy person for each missed day.
However, if they delay paying fidyah beyond the first year, no additional fidyah is required.
This differs from someone who delays making up missed Ramadan fasts (qada) without a valid excuse until the next Ramadan begins—such a person is required to pay an additional fidyah for the delay.
Is it permissible for a woman to ride a taxi without a Mahram (unmarriageable kin) in order to attend a gathering of knowledge?
It is permissible for the woman to pursue the knowledge that she needs in order to perform the religious requirements due on her if there was nobody to teach her at home, provided that there is no temptation involved. Moreover, we don`t recommend that she rides a taxi without a Mahram although such an act isn`t from the forbidden Khulwah (seclusion).
When is the prayer considered *adāʾ* (performed within its time): upon rising from the bowing (*rukūʿ*), or after rising from the prostration (*sujūd*)?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Whoever catches one complete rakʿah within the prayer's time has caught the prayer as an on-time (adāʾ) prayer. The rakʿah is complete when the worshipper raises his head from the second prostration (sajdah), even if he has not yet reached the degree of standing in which the recitation is valid.
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj (Vol.1/p.378): "What is meant by the rakʿah is the completion of all of it, with its two prostrations." End quote.
And in Ḥāshiyat al-Shabrāmallisī: "(His saying: 'a rakʿah') means that he raises his head from the second prostration, even if he has not reached the degree in which the recitation is valid." And Allah Almighty knows best.
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Note on terminology: Adāʾ refers to performing the prayer within its prescribed time, as opposed to qaḍāʾ (making it up after its time has ended).
