Salaah

Making up for qadha salaah

Q: I am confused on how to proceed with missed prayers. I am very ashamed of my past as I missed a ton of prayers due to laziness and ignorance. I have repented and I am trying to not miss any more prayers. I have been given 2 different instructions regarding the missed prayer.

1. All missed prayers should be made up with Qadha. One should calculate estimate of all prayers missed and offer qadha as much as one can.

2. It is not necessary to make up the missed prayers as Qadha as since prayer has a set time and once the time limit for the prayer has gone it cannot be done. One should repent and pray more sunnah prayers such as tahajjud and sunnahs of the fard prayers.

Which one is correct? Most people who gave me advice have advised 2 and quoted Al-Muhalla, 2/235.

Istikhaarah dua

Q: My son has seen a girl in our town and is interested in proposing to her. He would like to do it the correct way by approaching the parents to ask her hand.

However, he would like to first make Istikhara to see if she is a suitable spouse. As his parents, we feel she would be a good match as she is a homely girl who doesn't gallivant the streets and keeps to herself.

Please provide us with the Istikhara dua or namaaz that he can read in order for him to make his decision.

Men and women performing salaah in a hall separated by a wall

Q: In a Masjid where there is one hall but men and women pray side to side but women are in a space next to the men separated by a wall and a divider and there is a gap of a more than a space a person can stand in between the men and women. If in this set up, some women on their side end up being ahead of men on the men’s side, would the prayer of the men they are ahead of or on the same line on be invalidated, would anyone’s prayer be invalidated?