Some mobile phones have a Quraan programs which enable one to read the Quraan anytime on the mobile’s screen. Is Taharah (Purity) a condition before one starts reciting?.

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

Which is more important: dealing with feelings and thoughts that Allaah dislikes, such as destructive envy, hatred, arrogance, showing off, thinking highly of one's deeds, hard-heartedness, etc., which form the evil that resides in the heart, or focusing on doing outward naafil deeds such as prayer, fasting and other acts of worship and fulfilling vows even though those other things are present in the heart? Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good.

1. I would like to know the dividing line between hypocrisy and courtesy, because in many cases I feel that there is some two-facedness in people's behaviour and dealings, based on their interests and whims and desires, and it is said that it is just courtesy. Is this true? 

2. Is it possible for true friendship to be mixed with a little hypocrisy? I have a friend who does not love me as I thought she did. She held a special place in my heart that was shared by no one else, but recently I found out that my status with her is zero, and her behaviour with me for many years was superficial. I thought, and everyone was certain about that, that our friendship was strong, and until now I do not know how to end this friendship after finding out what is really going on. 

3. Can the way this friend behaved be regarded as hypocrisy? 

4. What is the punishment for hypocrisy in friendship?

Allah tells us in the Qur'an not to cut off our blood relations. What is the interpretation of the Ayah that commands us not to severe ties of kinship? Who does it refer to? Just parents and siblings? What if one maintains contact with one's parents only through telephone or letters although he is capable of visiting them. Yet, he feels that maintaining a certain distance is healthier to the relationship ?

If one Muslim brother loves another Muslim brother, does he have to say to this brother "I love you for the sake of Allah?

Some scholars of tajweed said that it is obligatory to read Qur'aan with the rules of tajweed. Is that true?

I was just wondering if someone says he will drink and do zina (fornicate) and do haram (unlawful) stuff and then he will repent, will his repentance be accepted?

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?

I am a young Muslim man who believes in Allah and His Messengers and His Books, praise be to Allah. But sometimes I feel too lazy to pray. I am looking for a solution and a way to make me not be so lazy. Please note that this is what I want but the tricks of the Shaytaan are too strong.

What are the signs of Allah's love for His slave?

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?