Did everyone on earth – apart from those who were with Nooh on board the ark – drown when Allah sent the flood? Can everyone who is on earth now be regarded as descendants of those who were on board the ark (ship)?

In our country we have been affected by war and we were expelled from our land 23 years ago. Praise be to Allah, my father and I are settled now and we have a business. We borrowed money in order to settle and start a business, the value of which was 1 million. When we worked out the value of zakaah that we owe on the property and trade goods that we have in our possession, it was estimated to be 7 million, and the trade goods on which zakaah is due are worth 5 or 6 million. 
My questions are: 
1. Are we required to pay zakaah, as we have not paid it all these years because we were not able to pay off the debt of 1 million? Was it correct for us not to pay zakaah?
2. We do not have any cash now, if we are required to pay zakaah. We helped a brother of ours to pay off a debt he owed, so that he could pay off the borrowed amount without paying the interest that had been agreed upon. Is it possible for us to waive this debt and thus pay off the zakaah that we owe?
3. We own some property in the country where the war was, that we took possession of after the war ended, and we are planning to sell this property in order to pay off debts and so that we can buy a house in the place where we live now. Is this property subject to zakaah?.

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?

Is it valid to read Qur’aan from the computer instead of from the Mushaf ?
In other words, reading from websites on the Internet or from text files that contain the entire Qur’aan, which is displayed on the computer screen. I work in a company and during my breaks I read Qur’aan on the computer.
Is it necessary to have wudoo’ for this kind of reading, as is the case when reading from the Mushaf?.

When I went to do ‘umrah, I was menstruating, so I did sa‘i and cut my hair, and I exited ihram and put on niqab. I waited until I became pure, then I did tawaaf at the Ka‘bah. I did this based on the ruling on Hajj, which says that the menstruating woman should do everything except tawaaf. Please note that I am not married. What is your opinion, may Allah bless you?

My question deals with a friend of mine who was ignorantly joking. When my friend was teased by another friend he ignorantly picked up his phone out of joking and said I have to tell Allah. Then he said on the phone "Hello, Allah" as to tell Allah. I know this is incorrect but is this shirk?

When a person repents, he makes a vigorous start and says: "The Shaytaan is telling me to slow down", so he does more acts of worship. Then his enthusiasm cools down, and he says: "Allah does not burden any person beyond his scope", and his acts of worship become less until he goes back to the way he was. 

My question: What advice can you give? Should he make a vigorous start, or take a gradual approach until it is established and then add more after a while, or should he follow the saying: "When your wind blows, then make the most of it"?.

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

What is the Islamic ruling on the issue of imitating the kuffaar in their customs and dealings? What are the guidelines concerning that in Islamic sharee'ah? Is every imitation of the actions of the kuffaar regarded as a haraam kind of imitation, knowing that there are many things that the kaafirs do that are not haraam and are not condemned by sharee'ah, where the one who does them does not do them merely to imitate the kuffaar, but because he thinks those things are good, as Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "What the Muslims think is good is good before Allah"?  
Please advise us, may Allah honour you, and please give me a detailed answer and explain to me the guidelines on this matter.

What are the things that a Muslim woman may uncover in front of a kaafir woman, such as a Buddhist woman for example? Is it true that she is not allowed to uncover her face?