What is the amount of food to be given to a needy person for fidyah and kaffarah?
The amount of food to be given to a needy person is 600 grams of wheat or rice.
According to the Hanafi school, it is permissible to give the monetary equivalent instead, and this is the ruling issued by the General Iftaa` Department.
Is it permissible for someone who is unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, due to his own poverty?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is not permissible, nor does it fulfill the obligation, for a sick person who is currently and permanently unable to fast to pay the fidyah (ransom/compensation payment) to himself, since it is a financial obligation owed by him, established as a standing debt upon him — much like any other debt he owes. If he were to pay it to himself, it would not thereby be discharged. So if he cannot find [anyone eligible to] pay it to, it remains a standing obligation upon him, and is not thereby waived. If Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, later grants him wealth, it becomes obligatory upon him to pay it out to the poor and needy.
Imam al-Khaṭīb ash-Shirbīnī (raḥimahullāh) said: "There is no difference in the obligation of the fidyah between the wealthy and the poor person; its benefit lies in its remaining established as a standing debt upon the poor person [until he is able to pay it] — and this is the more correct position (al-aṣaḥḥ), as indicated by the wording of ar-Rawḍah and its source text." [Mughnī al-Muḥtāj, Vol.2/P.174]
Accordingly: it is not permissible for a Muslim to pay the fidyah to himself while he remains poor. If the sick person is poor, he is not obligated to pay the fidyah immediately, and it remains a standing debt upon him until a time when he has sufficient means and wealth. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
Is it permissible to make ablution without answering the call of nature after waking up?
Washing front and back openings (Istinjaa`) is not a condition for the validity of ablution because it is done to remove Najaasah (impurity), thus if there is no Najaasah, there is no need for that, and then it is permissible to make ablution without answering the call of nature. However, prayer is invalidated if there is Najaasah on the anus ,or the front opening, so it (Najaasah) must be removed for the prayer to become valid, and not the ablution.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing the Witr prayer after the Adhan for Fajr prayer?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The time for Witr prayer begins after the ‘Ishā' prayer and ends with the rising of true dawn (al-fajr aṣ-ṣādiq). If a Muslim performs it at any point within this window, it counts as performed on time.
It is also recommended to make up a missed Witr prayer at any time — whether before or after performing the Fajr prayer, or at any other time of day. On the authority of Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī (raḍiyallāhu ‘anh), the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Whoever falls asleep and misses the Witr prayer, or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers, or when he wakes up." (Related by at-Tirmidhī)
Shaykh al-Islām, Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī (raḥimahullāh), says: "The time for Witr prayer is between the ‘Ishā' prayer and the rising of dawn, based on the authentic ḥadīth to this effect. If this time has passed, it is permissible for him to make it up (qaḍā') afterward." [Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
