If someone regularly fasts the six days of Shawwal, are they obligated to fast them every year?
A person is not obligated to fast the six days of Shawwal every year, even if they have made it a habit. However, someone who regularly performs a good deed should not abandon it as long as they are able.
Is it obligatory to make up all missed prayers?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
Making up missed prayers (qaḍāʾ) is a sharʿī obligation, established by the practice of the Prophet ﷺ himself — when the disbelievers preoccupied him on the Day of the Trench and he missed the ʿAṣr prayer, he made it up afterward. This is further affirmed by the ḥadīth: "Fulfil what you owe to Allah, for Allah is most deserving of being fulfilled." (Reported by al-Bukhārī.)
Accordingly, a person who has missed prayers should set aside his voluntary and Sunnah prayers and replace them with make-up prayers in their stead. There is no objection to making up one missed prayer alongside each obligatory prayer that is performed — praying the equivalent missed prayer together with each current obligatory prayer as a practical and manageable way of gradually clearing one's debt of missed prayers. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling on using a miswak (tooth-stick) during the day in Ramadan?
It is permissible to use a miswak before noon while fasting. However, according to the Shafi'i school, it is disliked (makruh) after noon in order to preserve the natural effect of fasting in the mouth, as the Prophetﷺ said in authentic hadith:
"The breath of a fasting person is more pleasant to Allah than the fragrance of musk."
How many prostrations of Quranic recital are there, and is it permissible not to offer them while reciting?
There is one prostration for the Quranic recital, and it is a Sunnah for which one is rewarded upon offering it. However, one who doesn`t isn`t punished. Therefore, those who fail to offer it aren`t considered sinful, rather they deprive themselves from the reward.
