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)..

My neighbour is an American Christian, and she and her family brought me a gift when it was Christmas. I could not refuse the gift, lest she be offended.  
Can I accept this gift, as the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) accepted gifts from kaafirs?

Question:

I have a few questions concerning parents
1-What right does my Mother have over me?
2-What right do I have over my mother?

I would like to ask you about my friends who claim they can call spirits. Is it possibly true? If it is, what is really going on?

Is it necessary for someone to seek refuge from Satan before reading every chapter of the Qur’ân if he is reading more than one chapter in one sitting?

I am from Egypt, and I went to Jeddah for work during Hajj season. After spending twenty days in Jeddah my work ended, and I was given permission to do Hajj, so I intended to do Hajj from that time, and I entered ihram for ‘Umrah from Jeddah, intending to do Hajj tamattu‘ (in which one enters ihram for ‘Umrah, exits ihram after ‘Umrah, then enters ihram again for Hajj on 8th Dhu’l-Hijjah). Is this correct, or do I have to go back to the miqaat of the people of Egypt?

I know that a woman is not permitted to travel without a mahram with her. I would like to know what is meant by (traveling) exactly. Where should we start measuring the distance, from the beginning (a place in the desert), or from where?
My father has a farm on Misr-Ismailia way, and he likes us to visit him every so often, this farm is about 75 minutes maximum from home. Is this considered traveling?
Considering that there are many new cities, schools, companies, and farms along the way.

I am a young Algerian man married to a foreign Christian woman who has an inclination towards Islam. But Allah has willed that we should separate. My question is: is the kitaabi (Jewish or Christian) woman required to observe ‘iddah and do I have to impose it on her if she refuses to observe ‘iddah? There is a second problem, which is that I am living in her house and I do not have any other accommodation to go to. What is the Islamic ruling concerning that?.

I read your answer about prayer whilst doing surgery or afterwards. I work as a doctor and the day is very short in Canada during the winter; Maghrib comes at 5 p.m. Hence the time between the prayers is very short and I do not know how the surgeon can do his work when this time is very short. Hence I think it is better to make the prayers up afterwards. What is your opinion on that?

I embraced Islam -praise be to Allah- and now I want to keep myself chaste, but my parents think that the most suitable age of marriage is not until twenty-five or preferably twenty-eight. Even worse than that, one of them thinks that there is nothing wrong with friendship and relationships outside of marriage - Allah forbid. The matter is extremely difficult and I do not know how to talk to them about this matter. I want to keep myself chaste; I want to marry a man who will help me to adhere to my religion, a man who will stand beside me and help me, a man who will live with me, because I am living far away from my parents. They are divorced and each one lives in a different city. I do not know how to explain these details to them in order to convince them that I should get married early; rather they think that getting married at an early age is something that is not appropriate. I am the only daughter of my parents, hence I do not want to disobey them and I do not want to upset them; I do not want them to forsake me either. I want at least to do the marriage contract, then delay consummation until Allah wills.

My questions are:

1. Is it permissible for me to do the marriage contract but delay marriage and the waleemah (wedding feast) and consummation for five years, for example?

2.  Do I have to repeat the marriage contract in front of my family later on and pretend that I was not married? Or is that regarded as coming under the heading of lying? I hope you can advise me because I do not know what to do.
 

I am a Muslim Arab university student in the United States. I am married and am working temporarily in the distribution centre of a local daily newspaper until I graduate and return to my country, because my family and I need the money urgently and there are few opportunities for halaal work in this country. Is it permissible to work in newspaper distribution?.