How is the niṣāb (minimum threshold) of gold calculated when one owns gold of multiple different karats?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Zakāh is obligatory on cash and on gold designated for saving or for trade, provided the total reaches the niṣāb (minimum threshold liable for Zakah), and a full ḥawl (lunar year) has elapsed over it. The niṣāb is (85) grams of 24-karat gold; for 21-karat gold, the niṣāb equals (97) grams; and for 18-karat gold, it equals (113) grams.
If one owns gold of multiple different karats, the person paying zakāh should calculate the monetary value of all the gold he owns, combining these values together to determine whether the total reaches the niṣāb. He then pays zakāh on this combined monetary value, once the total reaches the niṣāb. The relied-upon position is to calculate the zakāh based on the buying price [i.e., the price the gold merchant would pay the owner to purchase the gold from him] on the day the zakāh obligation is due. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
What is the validity of the formula for sending blessings upon our master Muḥammad ﷺ: *"Allāhumma ṣalli wa sallim wa bārik ‘alā sayyidinā Muḥammad wa ‘alā ālihi, ‘adada kamāli-Llāhi wa kamā yalīqu bikamālihi"* ("O Allah, send blessings, peace, and grace upon our master Muḥammad and his family, by the number of Allah's perfection, and as befits His perfection")?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is permissible to send blessings upon our master, the Prophet ﷺ, using the formula mentioned in the question, since sending blessings upon the Prophet ﷺ is an act of devotion legislated in its basic essence, without a specific prescribed wording required outside of the formal prayer itself. It is therefore valid to perform it outside of prayer using any formula. This particular formula involves multiplying the blessings sent upon the Chosen Prophet ﷺ to the number of the perfections of Allah, the Exalted — which are limitless — so that, by Allah's permission, its reward and benefit never cease.
The meaning of "the number of Allah's perfection" is that it is without limit, making the blessings sent boundless, corresponding to His perfection, Glorified is He, which cannot be enumerated or counted. This formula is analogous to the words of our Greatest Prophet ﷺ, as related in the authentic ḥadīth narrated by Imam Muslim: the Prophet ﷺ said to Sayyidah Juwayriyyah (raḍiyallāhu ‘anhā): "Indeed, I said four phrases after you [left], three times, which, if weighed against everything you have said since this morning, would outweigh them: Subḥān Allāhi wa biḥamdihi, ‘adada khalqihi, wa riḍā nafsihi, wa zinata ‘arshihi, wa midāda kalimātihi" (Glory be to Allah, and praise be to Him, by the number of His creation, by His pleasure, by the weight of His Throne, and by the extent of His words). And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.
What is the ruling on reciting the Noble Qur’an during menstruation?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is impermissible for a woman in menses, a woman in postnatal bleeding, or a person in a state of major ritual impurity to recite any part of the Noble Qur’an with the intention of recitation, even from a mobile phone or a computer, and even if the recitation is from memory. It is narrated on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) “was not prevented, or he said kept back, from the Qur’an by anything except janābah (major ritual impurity).” It was narrated by Abū Dāwūd and al-Tirmidhī, who said: “Ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.”
Janābah and menstruation are one and the same in that both constitute a major ritual impurity. Just as a woman is commanded by Allah Almighty to pray, fast, and recite the Noble Qur’an during her period of purity, she is likewise commanded to refrain from these during the period of her excuse.
For further reference, see the fatwas: (Fatwas of Shaykh Nūḥ, Fatwa no. 27) and (
248). And Allah Almighty knows best.
How does the person praying perform the prostration (Sujud)?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is an act of Sunnah for the person praying to descend for prostration (Sujud) by placing their knees first, then placing their hands on the ground, and then placing their nose and forehead simultaneously. It is obligatory that the toes of the feet be on the ground, directed towards the Qibla. And Allah the Exalted knows best.
