What is the ruling of Islamic Law on performing prayer on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Facing the actual structure of the Ka‘bah (‘ayn al-Ka‘bah) is one of the conditions for the validity of the prayer. The scholars have clarified what is meant by "the actual structure of the Ka‘bah."
Imam ash-Sharwānī (raḥimahullāh) said: "What is meant by its ‘ayn (actual structure) is its physical body, or the airspace directly aligned with it — if the person praying is not inside it. But if he is inside it, then the airspace alone does not suffice; rather, the actual physical structure must be faced, such that even if he faces a projecting part of it measuring roughly two-thirds of a dhirā‘ (cubit) or more, this would be sufficient." [Ḥāshiyat ash-Sharwānī ‘alā Tuḥfat al-Muḥtāj, Vol.1/P.484]
Sheikh al-Qulyūbī (raḥimahullāh) said: "Unlike one who prays outside it — i.e., outside the Ka‘bah — for him the airspace (directly above it) suffices, even if he is higher than it, or even if he is at the location where it (hypothetically) has been demolished." [Ḥāshiyat al-Qulyūbī ‘alā Sharḥ al-Minhāj, Vol.1/P.154]
Accordingly, the prayer is valid on the upper floors of al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, even though these floors are higher than the roof of the Ka‘bah itself. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
Is fasting obligatory for a child?
Fasting is not obligatory for a child until they reach puberty. Puberty is determined by well-known signs, the most common of which are: nocturnal emission (for both males and females), menstruation (for females), or reaching the age of fifteen lunar years.
A guardian must instruct their children to fast once they reach the age of discernment, which is around seven years old, if they are capable of fasting.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on a person who abandons prayer after reaching puberty—is he required to make them up?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Making up missed obligatory prayers is an Islamic duty just as performing them in their proper time is obligatory, and taking care of them takes precedence over performing voluntary prayers. This is established by the practice of our Supreme Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when the polytheists distracted him on the Day of the Trench from performing the Asr prayer, so he made it up afterward, as well as the Hadith: "Pay Allah what is due to Him, for Allah is most deserving of fulfillment." (Recorded by Al-Bukhari)
Furthermore, it is valid to make up missed prayers at any time.
Whoever has missed a number of prayers and does not know their exact count, it is obligatory upon them to sincerely repent and exert their utmost effort to estimate their number. If they are unable to determine the exact count, they should base it on what is most probable according to their best judgment. They should then make them up gradually; if one performs one missed prayer alongside every current obligatory prayer, the matter becomes easy and manageable, and with the passage of time, one will complete what is owed, Allah willing. And Allah Almighty knows best.
Can an Udhiyah be made up if its time is missed?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
If the sacrificial animal (udhiyah) is a voluntary (nafl) offering and its prescribed time is missed after the three days of Tashriq have ended, then it is not to be made up as a sacrifice; rather, it becomes merely a sheep for meat.
However, if it was a vowed (nadhr) sacrifice and its time is missed, then it must still be slaughtered, and the slaughtered animal is to be treated as it would have been during its prescribed lawful time. And Allah Almighty knows best.
