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Are prayers and fasting invalidated if cat hair or saliva come into contact with a person’s body or clothing?

Cat hair and saliva are not ritually impure and do not invalidate a prayer or a fast.

• fasting
• prayers

Believers pay Zakat al-Fitrah at Islamic centers in the West by placing it in designated boxes before performing Eid prayers in order to deliver it to the deserving poor among the believers. If the total amount of funds exceeds the need or the deserving poor believers in the area are few, is it permissible to spend it on the development of Islamic centers or the expenses of some of the educational and outreach initiatives and programs?

Zakat al-Fitrah is spent exclusively on the poor believers based on obligatory precaution, and is not permissible to be spent on other charitable causes. It can be transferred to poor believers in other regions; however, it is better to give it to the jurist (marja).

• eid
• zakat
• zakat fitrah

What are the recommended acts that believers should observe or perform on the day of Eid al-Fitr?

There are many acts that are recommended to be performed on the day of Eid, the most important of which include:
Performing a ritual bath (ghusl) with supplications both during and after it as mentioned in books of supplications. 
Eating breakfast before attending Eid prayer, and offering breakfast to the believers if possible.
Wearing nice clothes and applying fragrance. 
Attending Eid prayer shortly after sunrise.
Paying zakat al-fitra to deserving recipients before the prayer.
Reciting the specific Eid ziyarah of Imam al Hussain (p).
Reciting the supplication of Imam Zayn al-Abidin al-Sajjad (p) that he recited after Eid prayer, which is the 46th supplication of al-Sahifah al-Sajjadiyyah.
Reciting Dua al-Faraj for Imam al-Mahdi (peace be upon him and may God hasten his reappearance).

• eid
• zakat
• zakat fitrah

Is it permissible to take out and pay Zakat al-Fitrah before the night of Eid to transfer it to another town or country?

It is permissible to give Zakat al-Fitrah to the deserving poor any time during the month of Ramadan or to the jurist, or to their representatives with the intention that they will distribute it accordingly but, based on obligatory precaution, it is NOT permissible to transfer Zakat al-Fitrah to another town if there is a deserving poor in the town in which one lives.

• zakat
• zakat fitrah

Many believers face difficulty when met with invitations to break their fast during the month of Ramadan—which is recommended—due to the differences of opinion among jurists on whether sunset (maghrib) is established when the entire sun disappears below the horizon or when redness in the eastern sky disappears. Therefore, is it permissible to break the fast with everyone, taking into account harmony between relatives, friends, and others?

The time for breaking the fast according to Islamic law is the commencement of maghrib prayer which is established by the disappearance of redness in the eastern sky, even for those who know that the sun has set based on obligatory precaution. [Obligatory precaution in this case means a duty-bound person may resort to another qualified jurist who considers it sufficient that maghrib is established upon disappearance of the sun]. Believers are expected to respect the other views and not to allow those who want to use the difference in jurisprudential views to create disunity among the believers.

• breaking fast
• fasting

What is the ruling on washing or rinsing the mouth for ablution (wudhu) or when brushing one’s teeth during fasting?

Rinsing the mouth is recommended for ablution (wudhu), yet the fasting person should ensure that they do not swallow any water. If that water inadvertently enters the esophagus, the fast remains valid. However, if rinsing the mouth was not for ablution (wudhu), then the fast would be invalid [if water entered the esophagus]. It is permissible for a fasting person to use a toothbrush to clean their teeth during the day provided they do not swallow anything. A very minute amount that usually dissolves in the saliva does not break the fast, and the fasting person should spit out all the water they rinsed with after brushing their teeth (e.g., by spitting three times) to ensure that nothing goes down the esophagus.

• brushing teeth
• wudhu

What is the ruling on prayer and fasting for university students who move near their university and intend to remain there (i.e., away from home) for the duration of their studies?

If they intend to stay there for the entire period of their studies then the same ruling as one’s hometown (watan) applies after moving there. Thus, they must perform full prayers and fast. However, based on obligatory precaution, they must combine performing shortened and full prayers and fasting and making it up during the first two weeks. To avoid abiding by this precaution, they can intend to stay for ten days and would then observe fasting and perform prayers in full from the first day they settle near their university.

• college / university
• fasting
• student

What is the ruling on prayers and fasts missed out of ignorance by a duty-bound person, male or female, in their early years of takleef (religious obligation), and the exact number of which is not known? Is there an expiation to be offered?

It is obligatory to make up missed prayers and fasts, and it is permissible to make up the least possible number they are certain to have missed. As for fasting, in addition to making up the fasts, one must offer an expiation for knowingly breaking the fast (feeding sixty poor believers for each day missed) and another expiation for delaying the makeup fast (feeding one poor believer for each day missed), unless they were certain that fasting was not obligatory upon them.

• make up prayers
• prayers

What are your eminence’s guidelines for believers regarding their duty towards Imam al-Mahdi (may God hasten his return)?

The best way to obey the Imam, become closer to him, and gain his satisfaction is by adhering to the sacred laws of Islam, adopting virtuous qualities, and staying away from vices. The [only] recourse for believers in matters of religion during the time of occultation is the pious scholars. Among the most important duties of the believers during this time is to be very cautious and cognizant of everything related to him, his reappearance, and the ways to connect with him; this is one of the most difficult challenges and a source of trials during the era of occultation. Our religious stance towards those who claim that they have met the Imam during the time of occultation, either directly or through a vision (dream), is to deny what they say and reject their claims and anything they attribute to him. Rather, whatever they attribute to the Imam, such as [his putative] words, are known to be false and should be denied.

• imams

Is it permissible for a man to look at the hair and body of a woman he wants to marry? And, are there any limits and conditions?

It is permissible for a man who wants to marry a woman to look at certain physical features, such as her face, hair, neck, palms, wrists, legs, and so on. However, it is subject to the following conditions:

1. The reasonable possibility that he will marry her
2. He has not seen her [hair and body] before
3. No impediment to marrying her, such as if she is observing a waiting period (iddah).
4. Looking must not be with the intent of lustful pleasure
5. No fear of falling into a forbidden act due to looking at her, otherwise it is not permissible to do so. 

Additionally, it is permissible for a woman to show her hair and body to the marriage suitor when requested within the religious limits.

• hair
• marriage
• women