The Place of Praying 17item A person performed prayers, for a period of time, on a prayer mat or in a dress out of which khums was to be paid. What is the state of these prayers? Is it true that men should stand in front of women while performing prayer? The place we perform prayer is not pure but the place of prostration is. Is our prayer correct? Is one permitted to sit in, perform prayers in, or pass through places that have been usurped by a tyrannical regime? The present building of the office where we work used to be the site of a graveyard in the past. About forty years ago it was abandoned and thirty years ago this building was constructed. Now, all the lands around the office have been built on, and there remains no sign of the graveyard. Please clarify whether it is correct for the employees to perform prayer in such an office from the viewpoint of Islamic law? There are some restaurants on the roads next to which there exist places for performing prayer. If one does not eat in those restaurants, will he be allowed to perform prayer in those places or does he have to seek permission from the owners of the restaurants? In some governmental companies and institutions, there are some people who do not attend congregational prayers held in them with the excuse that such places were taken over from their owners upon the orders of a shar‘ī court. Please state your honored opinion in this matter? Is it correct to perform prayer in a place where forbidden music is being played? Is it makrūh to perform prayer on a prayer mat that has pictures on it or on clay [turbah] with engravings? If there is a masjid next to a ḥusayniyyah, will it be correct to perform congregational prayer in the ḥusayniyyah? Are the rewards of such prayers equal in both places? Is it makrūh to perform prayer on a prayer mat that has pictures on it or on clay [turbah] with engravings? A person has been living in a house owned by the government and after the allotted time for his residence is over, he is given a notice to vacate it. What is the rule pertaining to his prayers and fasting after the deadline fixed for its evacuation expires? What is the rule concerning the prayer of those who are sent on a mission in a boat when the prayer time begins in such a way that if they do not pray there, they will not be able to perform it thereafter in its specific time? What is the rule with respect to hanging the photographs of Imam Khomeini (q.) and the martyrs of the Islamic Revolution in the masjids, given that Imam Khomeini (q.) expressed his desire not to have his photographs fixed in the masjids and there is also a view that considers such an act as makrūh? What is the rule with respect to performing prayer on land that used to be an endowment in the past and the government has taken it over and built a school on it? 12