Salaah

Q: Can a husband lead his wife in namaz (congregation). If yes, what is procedure to do so?

Q: Please can you advise if it is permissible for a Hanafi to read the Asr namaz alone when the time for Asr (shaafi'ee) has set in. The reason is that this person only reaches home 5-10 minutes before Maghrib due to his work and car pool commitments and does not want to miss his Asr namaaz.

Q: We carried out an istikhara for my son almost a year ago for a college girl he was interested in. The Aalim said no. My son got very disturbed and heard from someone that istikhara can be repeated after some time. During this year almost, he prayed five times and performed umrah with the family and did istikhara himself and saw himself offering prayer. He says he is satisfied and the answer is yes from Almighty Allah. He only resolves around any option confirming his yes but we the parents still wish to seek guidance. We want some responsible authority to say ok before we take decision. Please help us!!

Q: What is the significance of having a forehead mark from salaah? Why people don't have it even after praying for years? Some people have this mark only after a few weeks of praying. Is this some sign that the prayers are thrown back on the? People are telling it's a sign of hypocrisy? Is it true?

Q: We were traveling in a hurry and I missed Zuhr, Asr and Maghrib then I made it home after Isha and before I prayed Isha, I prayed the fard prayers starting from Zuhr all the way to Isha. Is that permissible?

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?