Missing prayer
Date 16 February 2026 & Clock 19:20
Question 11: I have missed many prayers but I do not know their exact order. Do I have to take care of the order of the prayers? I mean, is it to necessary to offer them as they were missed?
Answer 11: If you know the sequence and order of the missed prayers, it is recommended that you offer them in the same manner that they were missed but if you do not know the order, you can make them up in any manner you can.
Why should an apostate be killed?
Date 16 February 2026 & Clock 19:20
Question 1: Why should an apostate be killed? How is this consistent with the Quranic verse which says, "There is no compulsion in religion"? Isn't a person free in choosing his religion?
Answer 1: If an apostate expresses his apostasy, he will be sentenced to death. In case, he does not express or announce it openly, he will not get such a punishment. In fact, by expressing his apostasy, the apostate has waged a war against the religion, God and His prophet. He should therefore be killed. We believe the religion of Islam is based on logic, wisdom and rationality. There is no way one can use his sound intellect yet he denies the religion of Islam which is the most perfect and comprehensive of divine religions. It incorporates all pre-revealed divine religions with more perfect laws and codes of practice. Moreover, freedom does not mean going against such a religion whose aim is to bring prosperity for humanity. Perhaps, an apostate, by his act, may cause others to deviate from the right path. For this reason, he should be killed. Finally, an apostate is like a fierce and ferocious animal that has to be annihilated. In addition, you should understand that the very law will have its impact on the people who may, out of their carnal desires, want to stand against this divine religion.
Spiritual perfection
Date 16 February 2026 & Clock 19:20
Question 6: Given that you are a lecturer in the Islamic seminary, I would like to know your idea about how a person can achieve spiritual perfection. How is it possible and what methods one should follow?
Answer 6: I ask you to pray to God for me to grant me perfection also but Almighty God says "And that man hath only that for which he maketh effort." {Al-Najm:39} Of course, this is a divine tradition which means that a man cannot gain perfection unless he strives for it. In addition, one must seek divine assistance and be submissive to God. He should also resort to the prophets and the infallibles for help. They can help with God's permission.
Zikr (praise word) or a supplication for me to read so that my wish may be granted
Date 16 February 2026 & Clock 19:20
Question 21: I request you humbly to send me a zikr (praise word) or a supplication for me to read so that my wish may be granted.
Answer 21: Place your hand on your chest upon offering the morning prayer and recite “ya fattah”(یا فتاح) seventy times and also read the following dua:
"لاحول و لاقوة الا بالله، توکلت علی الحی الذی لایموت و الحمدلله الذی لم یتخذ ولدا ولم یکن له شریک فی الملک ولم یکن له ولی من الذل و کبره تکبیرا".
(La havla wa laa quwata illa billah, tavakkaltu ‘alal-hayyil lazi la yamutu wal hamdu lillah al-lazi lam yattakhiz waladan wa lam yakullahu sharikun fil mulk wa lam yakullahu waliun menazzull-e wa kabbirhu takbira)
Carrying out the vow(nazr)
Date 16 February 2026 & Clock 19:20
Question 17: I was born in one of the villages of Esfahan province but I have been living in Tehran for the past many years. I had made a vow (nazr) that I would slaughter a sheep in front of a mourning procession in my village, if my wish were granted. Praise belongs to Allah, now my wish has been granted but unfortunately, for some reason, I cannot return to my birthplace to carry out the nazr. Can I give the money to a charity organization here on the day of Ashura? Does it relieve me of my duty?
Answer 17: If it had been only a niyat (intention) and the nazr had not been made according to Islamic Shariah, you can act in the same manner that you have stated in your message, or else you can ignore it. If you had made your nazr according to Shariah law (for instance, you had read the formula of Nazr in Arabic or in your own language), you must carry out the nazr in your birthplace in the same manner that you had decided in the first place. May Allah grant you success.
