I want to serve my Religion, what should I do?

What is the rate of Zakaat al-Fitr? Is it permissible to give it after the Eid Prayer? Is it permissible to give Zakaat al-Fitr in cash?

He masturbated during the day in Ramadan in order to provide a sample of semen for testing in the case of infertility; what are the consequences of that action?

My friends and I get together one night a week to recite a few verses of the Book of Allah, so as to learn how to recite the Qur'an, then after that we talk about various things. But we heard that it is not permissible to gather to recite Qur'an and that is only permissible for the purpose of memorization. Is this true?

Is there anything that will tell a person that his Lord is pleased with him?

Does falling into sin indicate that there is something wrong with one's 'aqeedah (belief system)?

Can a muslim pray for his non-mulsim mother who has passed away?

I am from a Muslim background, but I never used to offer the obligatory prayers and even when I tried to pray once, I did not do it right. In other words I did not prepare to do it in the proper manner. I ask Allah to forgive me. I heard that the one who does not pray is a disbeliever and is not a Muslim, but whoever offers the five daily prayers, or one or two of them and omits the rest, is regarded as a Muslim. Also, I did not pay zakah on my wealth, but for at least two years I have completed the fast of Ramadan, and I intend to continue doing so. I want to learn how to pray and make it part of my life, along with other acts of worship. 

Is it obligatory for me to pay zakah for all these many years (when I did not pay it), and to make up the days that I did not fast at the time when I was not praying? 

Please note that I have now reached the age of thirty-one years; perhaps you will understand that this may cause me a great deal of hardship; to ward off that hardship, can I start over? Will Allah forgive me if I do that?

When traveling via airplane which direction should one pray? Assuming that due to conditions on the plane the proper direction cannot be ascertained.

A very common problem seen in youth in western countries is that their parents allow them to indulge in some form of haram in the hope that will stop them from committing worse haram. An example of this is that parents will say that they allow their children to indulge in music in the hope that will stop them from going out with bad people or leaving their home all together. Parents are afraid that if they enforce the law of Allah in their homes, that their children will leave. 

What is Islam's position on this sort of compromise? Some parents also say that they only have the duty to tell their children something is haram, and then their children have to choose for themselves because they are already young adults (i.e. 13 -18 years old and unmarried, living at home). Don't the parents have to forbid haram by all means, or do they just say that is haram and then leave them be? To what extent do parents have to go to forbid their children from haram?

Parents also believe that once their children reach the age of puberty they are no longer responsible for their sins or actions, and so say they will have no sin if they advise their children something is haram and then leave them. Is this true? Or do parents always have the responsibility of forbidding their children from haram, and will they be responsible if they see their children doing haram and just leave them after advising them?

How can we help a child to know his Lord?

I have a question about some terminology that I would like you to explain to me. In some audio lectures I hear words such as (a marfoo' hadith) or  (a maqtoo' hadith)..