Salaah

Q: My question is that when women cover their body's while praying, should they cover their feet as well while praying or not? I heard in a talk that they should wear socks while praying.

Q: What time does Zohar Salaah become Qadha. Does Zohar end at the time Asr starts? I see that the Shafi time for Asr is 15:15 and for Hanafi it is 16:03. I do understand the the shadow of an object needs to be twice the original size plus the bit that was there at midday. I am asking in regards to the times for the Salaah. This is the time in Durban.

Q: I suffer from depression. Im a religious person and offer prayers five times a day and even tahajjud and read Quran with translation, but when I am depressed, I leave all this, miss prayers, mostly esha, I lose interest in prayers and don't offer most of them. What to do? There is nobody to ask me to offer prayer, what is the cure of this disease?

Q:

1. What is the minimum requirement of a sutra (obstacle in front of the namazi) and where should it be placed?

2. Can namaz be offerd in front of a sofa/bed/chair?

3. What if some child comes and mistakenly sits on it while the person is praying behind the chair's back or in front of the bed?

Q: If I put my musalla such that it faces the bed, then is my namaz valid in the case when someone is sleeping/sitting on the bed? Or should sutra be placed in front of musalla before starting namaz?

Q: We are a newly married couple (1 year). Every time we get intimate, we are missing our namazes. Even though we are trying really hard to control our desires, even if we get intimate every 4 days. My wife because of her migraine, sinus and long hair delays ghusal which makes me feel bad as because of me she is missing her namaaz. How do you recommend we should control our desires. Please tell us possible solutions.

Q: I would like to enquire what is mufti sahebs view on students traveling overseas to perform taraweeh salaah.

Q:

1. When starting salah, do your hands have to be facing qiblah?

2. Will salah be valid if you start salah with your hands facing inward towards your head? One time my imam for salatul jumuah started salah and I think his hands were facing inward. What should I do in such a situation if my jumuah is invalid and I am going to have to wait for second jumuah or go catch jumuah at another masjid?

Q:

1. Do you have to read samiallahu liman hamidah whilst getting up from rukoo or can you say it after you stand up?

2. Will the salah be invalid or makruh if one says it after getting up?

3. When praying salah in jamat, when the imam says samiallahu liman hamidah does the muqtadi have to say it too or can he just say rabbana lakal hamd?

4. Likewise, does the imam have to say rabbana lakal hamd or does he just say samiallahu liman hamidah and stays quiet after that?

Q:

1. There are two times for the starting of Asr Salah. The earlier time is according to the Sha'afi madhab, and a later time is according to Hanafi madhab. I recently came to know that even for us as Hanafis, it is wajib to perform Zuhr salah before the start of Sha'afi Asr time, to be on the safe side and avoid the risk of our Zuhr Salah being Qaza. Is this correct?

2. If a Hanafi performs Asr Salah when the time has started according to Sha'afi madhab but according to Hanafi madhab the time has still not entered, is his Salah valid? Does he have to repeat the Salah? (This is a very common problem in many Western countries where Hanafis print out Salah timetables from the Internet and the Asr time displayed there is according to Sha'afi madhab. So these people then perform Asr salah before the Hanafi time).

3. In some non-Hanafi countries, Asr Salah is performed in the Masajid before the Hanafi time. In this case, a Hanafi person has two choices, either to perform Salah with Jamaat before the Hanafi time or to offer it alone later on. What should he do?

4. There is a time before starting of Zuhr salah when it is prohibited to do Sajda or perform any Salah. I was under the impression that this time lasts for only ten or fifteen minutes before Zuhr. However, I came across a Salah timetable where it mentions the 'Makruh' time before Zuhr. For Durban, South Africa for 3rd April, this Makruh time has a duration of 38 minutes, lasting from 11.22 a.m till 12.00 pm. Is this correct?