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.
Is it permissible to watch soap operas during leisure time?
All perfect praise be to Allah the Lord of the Worlds. May His peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad and upon all his family and companions.
The answer depends on what is shown in them. If they include what is forbidden to see or hear then they aren`t permissible to watch. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
Is prayer mandatory on a dying person who goes through a state of unconsciousness, then wakes up?
If he wakes up and was conscious, then he should pray the way/manner he could, but if he wasn't, then he is exempted from obligatory prayer as Allah Says in this regard (What means): "On no soul doth God Place a burden greater than it can bear." [Al-Baqarah/286].
What is the ruling on having brotherly ties between a strange man and a strange woman, and is the former considered a Mahram (unmarriageable) to the latter?
Such a relation between a strange man and a strange woman is forbidden in Islam because it involves forbidding what Allah has allowed by marriage, and allowing what Allah has forbidden such as looking and the like. Such a relation doesn`t render any act lawful between them, thus they are forbidden to look at each other, have a Khulwah (seclusion), and travel together.