Is it incumbent on a father to cover the marriage costs of his son if the latter couldn`t afford them?
The son should seek the help of his relatives in order to convince his father to do the aforesaid, and the father should make sure that his son doesn`t commit fornication through helping him to get married, and Allah will reward him for doing so.
Is it permissible to slaughter a single sheep with the combined intention of both the uḍḥiyyah and the 'aqīqah?
All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
According to Shaykh al-Islām Imam Ibn Ḥajar al-Haytamī, it is not permissible to combine the intention of the uḍḥiyyah and the 'aqīqah in a single animal, as each of the two has a distinct and separate cause that differs from the other.
However, Shaykh al-Islām Imam al-Ramlī permitted the combining of both intentions in a single animal — and this position offers a degree of latitude and ease. And Allah Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on supplicating with other than the transmitted (Ma'thur) supplications in prayer?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is permissible to supplicate (make du'a) during the prayer for anything from the affairs of religion or worldly life, and the prayer is not invalidated by doing so.
Shaykh al-Islam, the Imam an-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: "Our madhhab [i.e., the Shafi'i madhhab] holds that it is permissible for a person to supplicate during it [the prayer] with anything that is permissible to supplicate with outside the prayer, from the affairs of religion or worldly life. He may say: 'O Allah, grant me wholesome sustenance, offspring, a house, and a beautiful young wife' — describing her; or: 'O Allah, free so-and-so from prison,' or 'destroy so-and-so,' and other such things — and none of this invalidates his prayer according to us. And this is also the view of Malik, ath-Thawri, Abu Thawr, and Ishaq." [Al-Majmu', Vol.3/P.454]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
What is the ruling on the follower (*maʾmūm*) reciting Sūrat al-Fātiḥah behind the imam?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
In our school of Islamic thought, the Shāfiʿī school, reciting al-Fātiḥah is obligatory in every rakʿah of the prayer for the imam, the follower (maʾmūm), and the one praying individually (munfarid), because it is one of the pillars (arkān) of the prayer. Whoever does not perform it, his prayer is invalid, whether the prayer is silent (sirriyyah) or audible (jahriyyah), based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): “The prayer of the one who does not recite the Opening of the Book (Fātiḥat al-Kitāb) is invalid.” Agreed upon.
It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik, one of the books of the Shāfiʿī school: “He recites al-Fātiḥah in every rakʿah, whether he is the imam, the follower, or the individual worshipper.”
The jurists of the other schools hold a different opinion, which was previously explained in Fatwa no. (
3169); please refer to it. And Allah Almighty knows best.
