What is required of one who doubts the number of rakʿāt during prayer?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If a person doubts the number of rakʿāt he has prayed, he should build upon the lesser number, as that is what he is certain of. He should then perform the prostration of forgetfulness (sujūd al-sahw) before the final salām at the end of the prayer. ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "When any one of you is in doubt during his prayer and does not know whether he has prayed three rakʿāt or four, let him pray one more rakʿah and then perform two prostrations while seated before the salām. If the rakʿah he prayed was a fifth, these two prostrations will make it even; and if it was the fourth, then the two prostrations serve as a humiliation for the devil." (Reported by Abū Dāwūd.)
It is stated in al-Muqaddimah al-Ḥaḍramiyyah — one of the foundational texts of the Shāfiʿī school: "If one doubts whether he has prayed three rakʿāt or four, he is obliged to build upon the lesser number."
However, if such doubt recurs repeatedly and reaches the level of obsessive whispering (waswasah), he should not build upon the lesser number in that case — rather, he should build upon the greater number. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
What is the Islamic ruling on one who was unable to fast and then regained the ability?
He is not required to make up the fast (Qada) even if he becomes capable of it; whether he regained the ability to fast after paying the fidya (feeding a needy person for each day of missed fasting) or before it, because he was liable for paying it in the first place, so it remains binding upon him. However, if he delayed paying it beyond the first year, nothing is required of him due to the delay. If he is unable to pay it, it does not remain as a debt upon him. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
What is the ruling on offering an Udhiyah on behalf of another with their permission?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible for a person to offer a sacrifice (Udhiyah) on behalf of someone else with their permission, even if the person performing it has not offered a sacrifice for themselves. It is stated in Sharh Manhaj al-Tullab (Vol.5/P.261) by Zakariya al-Ansari: "No one may offer a sacrifice on behalf of another without their permission... as opposed to when permission has been granted." And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Is it permissible for a person to give the Zakah (obligatory charity) to his daughter-in-law?
Yes, it is permissible for a person to give the Zakah to his daughter-in-law if she was poor, and none provided for particularly by whom are obliged to provide for her. And Allah Knows Best.
