Is prayer nullified by having thoughts while performing it?
Prayer isn`t nullified by having thoughts while performing it, provided that the praying person offers all of its pillars and meets all of its conditions. However, the reward decreases significantly in the absence of reverence since a praying person is rewarded according to the attentiveness of his/her heart during prayer.
Does the deceased hear the supplications or recitations of those visiting his/her grave? And does making constant supplications for the deceased who didn`t adhere to performing the prescribed prayers ameliorate his/her affliction?
Praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds.
In principle, the dead hear the living since it has been rigorously authenticated that the Prophet (PBUH) ordered the bodies of the idolaters slain in the Battle of Badr to be buried. He then approached them and called them one by one and said: "Have you found what your Lord promised to be true for we have found what our Lord promised us to be true." Umar asked him: "O messenger of God! Why do you speak to lifeless bodies?" The Prophet (PBUH) replied: "By the One Who has sent me with the truth! You do not hear my words better than they do except that they cannot respond." [Agreed upon].
However, not all the deceased are in the same situation because Allah The Almighty Knows: "Before them is a Partition till the Day they are raised up." [Al-Mu`minun/100]. Moreover, supplication reaches the deceased. And Allah Knows Best..
How to pay Zakah (obligatory charity) due on articles of merchandise?
Articles of merchandise are estimated by their whole sale market price at the end of each lunar year, and (2.5%) of their value is paid as Zakah whether it (value) went up, or down compared to actual purchasing price, and whether the increase (profit) was in the article itself such as an increase in the animal`s weight, or in the prices themselves. And Allah Knows Best.
Is it a condition that the meat of the Eid sacrifice should be distributed in order for the sacrifice to be accepted by Allah?
The poor and needy should be given from that sacrifice , even if it be a small portion,(One kilo for example) as raw meat so that they would cook it the way they want. The remainder of that sacrifice is either distributed, eaten, or offered to people in a banquette .
