I`m a university student. While I was sitting for an exam, the professor caught my fellow student cheating. I heard him telling her to hide the dossier. After the exam, he asked me to testify that I saw her cheating although I heard him telling her to hide the dossier but didn`t see her cheating. What is the ruling of Sharia on this?
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.
It was narrated that the Prophet (PBUH) said to a man: "Do you see the sun?" He replied: "Yes." He said: "Give witness in a similar case [which is as clear as the sun], or leave it." [Reported by Al-Baihaqhi in "Sho`ab Al-Eman" pp.10964]. Therefore, it is not permissible to testify about something that you haven`t actually seen. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.
Is it permissible to pay the expiation of an oath to a charitable party as it feeds the poor and needy such as Tkiyet Um Ali?
There is no harm on authorizing someone to handle the expiation of another to the poor and needy, since Shafiee's jurists stated that authorizing someone for the purpose of distributing Zakah, expiation and vow is permissible as stated in [Mughni Al-Muhtajj,vol.3/pp.237]. At last, the intention of the person who intends to authorize someone else suffices in this regard. And Allah Knows Best.
I suffer from absentmindedness and constant worries during prayer, what should I do?
You should take refuge in Allah from the whispers of the devil and life worries. You should also seek Allah`s help and offer a lot of Istigfar (seeking the forgiveness of Allah). And Allah Knows Best.
Is prayer nullified by having thoughts while performing it?
Prayer isn`t nullified by having thoughts while performing it, provided that the praying person offers all of its pillars and meets all of its conditions. However, the reward decreases significantly in the absence of reverence since a praying person is rewarded according to the attentiveness of his/her heart during prayer.