I have been married for five years. My husband has two sons from his first marriage. Nevertheless, I took care of his children, and gave birth to a baby boy who is now three years old. Unfortunately, we keep fighting all the time; sometimes over his two sons and sometimes over his family. If I serve his family members and praise them, he treats me kindly. If I don`t, he turns my life into living hell. What should I do?

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds, and may His Peace and Blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all of his family and companions.

Spouses should live with each other on a footing of kindness and equity. In your case, constructive dialogue is the best course of action. We advise you to be patient, commit your affair to Allah and ask Him to help you. We also recommend that you seek the help of the people of goodness and make them fix things between you and your husband. If all attempts for reconciliation fail then go to court, but we remind you that a problem, which could be solved with a beautiful word, is no problem at all, so praise family and children and try your best to win their hearts. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best.

How should a woman make up prayers that she missed two days from delivery?

All perfect praise be to Allah,The Lord of The Worlds                                                                                                                                                                        It is prohibited to delay prayer beyond its prescribed fixed time, therefore, the woman in question is obliged to make up missed prayers after delivery and confinement i.e. once she becomes ritually pure. And Allah Knows Best.

What is the ruling on the mother who resorts to practitioners of witchcraft to make her son hate his wife?

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.

What she is doing is forbidden and amongst the seven destructive sins. Hence, she must make repentance, seek forgiveness from Allah, regret what she has done and adhere to the teachings of Sharia. And Allah The Almighty Knows Best..

Is it permissible to combine and shorten prayers at home before traveling?

It is impermissible to combine and shorten prayers at home before traveling because a person is called a traveler once he/she departs the borders of his/her country, and offering prayer that way was originally intended to exempt a traveler. And Allah Knows Best.