What is the ruling on doubting whether one or two prostrations were performed?
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our Master, the Messenger of Allah.
If a worshiper is in doubt regarding the number of units (rak'ahs) or prostrations (sajdahs) performed, he must build upon the minimum (i.e., assume the lower number) and perform the prostration of forgetfulness (Sujud al-Sahw) before the Salam at the end of the prayer. This is based on the report from ‘Ata’ ibn Yasar that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'When anyone of you is in doubt about his Salat (prayer) and does not know how many he has prayed, three or four (Rak'at) he should cast aside his doubt and base his prayer on what he is sure of. Then, he should perform two prostrations before Taslim (salutation). If he has prayed five Rak'at, they will make his Salat (prayer) an even number for him and if he has prayed exactly four, they (i.e. two prostrations) will be humiliation for the devil..' (Narrated by Abu Dawud).
It is stated in Al-Muqaddimah al-Hadramiyyah: 'If one doubts [whether he performed] a bowing (ruku’), a prostration, or a rak'ah, he must perform it and prostrate [for forgetfulness], even if the doubt is removed before the Salam—unless the doubt is removed before he performs what would potentially be an addition. Thus, if he doubts whether he prayed three or four, he is obligated to build upon the minimum.' And Allah the Exalted knows best.
What is the ruling on ablution without istinja' after sleep?
The sleep of one whose buttocks are not firmly seated on the ground invalidates ablution. Whoever wakes up and wants to pray must perform ablution only. Istinja' is not a condition for the validity of ablution, because it is for removing impurity from the private part. If there is no impurity on the private part, then istinja' is neither obligatory nor recommended. And Allah the Almighty knows best.
What is the ruling of Islamic Law on the prayer of zawal?
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It is recommended (sunnah) to pray four rakʿāt — either with a single tasleem or as two separate sets of two rakʿāt — immediately following the sun's decline from its zenith (zawāl). This prayer is distinct from the regular Sunnah prayer of Ẓuhr (sunnat al-ẓuhr al-rātibah), as explicitly stated by the Shāfiʿī jurists.
It is mentioned in Nihāyat al-Muḥtāj: "The prayer of zawāl is offered after the sun's decline — so were one to perform it before that, it would not count. It consists of two or four rakʿāt and is distinct from the Sunnah of Ẓuhr, as is evident from the fact that it is mentioned separately after the regular Sunnah prayers, and it becomes a make-up prayer (qaḍāʾ) if a long period of time passes by customary reckoning... Al-ʿAlqamī stated: 'Scholars refer to this as the Sunnah of Zawāl, and it is distinct from the four rakʿāt that constitute the Sunnah of Ẓuhr.' Our shaykh said: Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī stated that among those who explicitly affirmed its recommendation was al-Ghazālī in al-Iḥyāʾ, in the chapter on devotional litanies, noting that there is no tasleem between them — meaning there is no break between each pair of rakʿāt."
The time of the sun's decline (zawāl) marks the very beginning of the time for the Ẓuhr prayer.
And Allah the Almighty knows best.
Is it permissible for a menstruating woman to recite the Quran from the computer without actually touching the Quran?
It is not permissible for a woman in her menstrual period, or in postpartum to recite the Quran, even by heart, or without actually touching the Quran itself. Recitation itself is what is prohibited on her regardless of how it is done. However, it is permissible for her to surf through the Quran by her eyes, or to recall it in her head without uttering the words. There is no harm for her to look at the Quranic verses on the computer without touching it, or to utter the words as this is called looking not reciting or reading.
