Why do we pray Zuhr and ‘Asr silently?

Why do we recite zuhr and asr prayer in low voice when it is clearly
mentioned in the quran the following ?.
Praise be to Allaah.
It was decreed that recitation in Zuhr and 'Asr should be done
silently because the time of these prayers is during the day, and at
that time a person's mind may be preoccupied with a lot of thoughts,
as he is busy with his work or trade or manufacturing. If the
recitation were to be done out loud, his mind would be distracted and
he would not listen attentively to the imam's recitation; he would not
listen to it or devote his attention to it; rather other things would
come to mind and distract him. So he was commanded to recite to
himself so that his recitation will make him think and ponder. It is
well known that if people pray in congregation for Zuhr or 'Asr
prayer, they should not recite out loud, because then they would
distract one another. So both the imam and the one who is praying
behind him are enjoined to recite silently. But with regard to the
prayers thatare offered during the night, in most cases people are
free from distractions so the imam is enjoined to recite out loud, so
that others may benefit from his recitation.
With regard to the verse which you mention, it applies only to qiyaam
al-layl and tahajjud. If a person is praying and there are people
around him who are listening to his recitation and others who are
asleep, then he should not recite so loudly as not to disturb those
who are sleeping orso quietly as to cause those who are listening
tohim to miss out on any benefit; rather he should recite at a
moderate volume, enough to be heard but not so loud as to disturb
those who are asleep. It also states in theverse that the Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to recite out loud and
the mushrikeen heard him and reviled the Qur'aan and the one who had
bought it, so he was forbidden to recite out loud and he began to
recite silently, but then the members of his household and those
whowere listening to him missed out on the benefit,so he was enjoined
to recite at a moderate volume.
Shaykh 'Abd-Allah ibn Jibreen (may Allah have mercy on him).

Does the deceased benefit from charity andfasting if he died when he was not praying?

My father has recently passed away.
He has missed many salaah during his lifetime. He has passed away at aged 65.
Is there any way of paying to charity any amount for the salaah missed.
Please advise how to calculate the number of salaah missed and the
amount to pay for charity for each day of salaah missed.
Eg. 65 years less 15 years= 50 years salaah missed. 50 years X 365
days = 18250 days of salaah missed.
Your assistance in answering the above will be greatly appreciated.
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The scholars differed on the ruling on one who neglects the prayer out
of heedlessness and laziness.The correct view is that heis a kaafir.
This has been discussed previously in the answers to questions no.
2182 and 5208 .
Once it is established that the one who does not pray is a kaafir, it
is not permissible to give charity, fast and do Hajj on his behalf.
The scholars of the Standing Committee (9/69) were asked: Is it
acceptable to pray for forgiveness and give charity for one who died
when he did not pray, or he used to pray sometimes and sometimes he
did not pray? Is it permissible to attend his funeral and bury him in
the Muslim graveyard?
They replied: The one who does not pray because he denies that it is
obligatory is a kaafir according to the consensus of the Muslims. The
one who does not pray out of heedlessness and laziness is a kaafir
according to the more correct of the two scholarly opinions.
Based on that, if a person who deliberately does notpray dies, it is
not permissible to pray for forgiveness for him, or to give charity on
his behalf, or to attend his funeral, orbury him in the Muslim
graveyard, because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him) said: "The covenant that stands between us and them is the
prayer; whoever abandons it is a kaafir." Narrated by Ahmad and the
authors ofas-Sunan with a saheeh isnaad. And he (blessings and peace
of Allah be upon him) said: "Betweena man and kufr and shirk there
stands his giving up prayer." Narrated by Muslim in his Saheeh.
Standing Committee for Academic Research and Issuing Fatwas
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ibn 'Abdullah ibn Baaz … Shaykh 'Abd ar-Razzaaq
'Afeefi… Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Ghadyaan… Shaykh 'Abdullah ibn Qa'ood
If your father was unaware that prayer is obligatory, or he
followedscholars who ruled that the one who does not pray out of
heedlessness is not a kaafir, then we hope that Allah will forgive
him, and in this case supplication and prayers for forgiveness forhim,
and giving charity onhis behalf, will benefit him.
And Allah knows best.

Can he pray Witr twice in one night if he prays after the imam?

I want to ask whether at the end of Taraaweeh prayer we should pray
al-Shaf' [two rak'ahs of naafil prayer] and Witr? I heard that the
last prayer you pray should be Witr. Does that mean that if I get up
to pray qiyaam al-layl I should pray al-Shaf' and Witr again, orshould
I delay them until Ipray qiyaam and then pray it?.
Praise be to Allaah.
If the Muslim prays Witr then he wants to pray qiyaam al-layl after
that, he should pray them two by two, and he does not have to repeat
Witr.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded that
the last prayer offered at night should beWitr, but this command is in
the sense that is it mustahabb, not obligatory. See Question no. 37729
.
Shaykh Ibn Baaz was asked:
If I have prayed Witr at the beginning of the night, then I get up to
pray qiyaam at the end ofthe night, how should I pray?
He replied:
If you have prayed Witr atthe beginning of the nightthen Allaah
enables you to get up at the end of the night, then pray whatever you
can two by two – without Witr, because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There cannot be no two Witrs
in one night."
And it was narrated from 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her)
that theProphet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to
pray two rak'ahs after Witr sitting down. The reason for that – and
Allaah knows best – was to show the people that it is permissible to
pray after Witr.

Majmoo' Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz.

And Allaah knows best.

1a] Small Deeds Great Reward

1a]
do the witr (prayer)…the first part, themiddle part and the last part
of it, and his witr would go to the last sixth part (sahar)."
Al-Bukhari and Muslim
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said; The Messenger of Allah
(may the peace and blessings of Allah be uponhim) said: "Whoever fears
not getting up in the last part of the night, let him do the witr in
the first part and whoever expectshe will get up in the last part of
it let him do the witr at the end of the night. The prayer in the last
part of the night is witnessed and that is better." Muslim
Sh. 'Abdul 'Aziz ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy onhim) said: "A person
should pray as is convenient for him in the first part of the night or
the middle part or the lastpart of it; he remains awake and prays as
is made easy for him, supplicates to his Lord, turns towards Him, and
seeks refuge with Him and he says the salam after every two units… The
tahajjud (night prayer) in the first part of the night or the middle
part or the last part of it isall good. However, the best is in the
last part of the night if that is easy forhim." End quote.
Fourth:
As with regard to your request to guide you to deeds which are easy
for you to do with your illness and which will not be burdensome and
harmful for you to do andits rewards from Allah, theMighty and
Majestic, are plentiful, then this is a sign of your intelligence and
high motivation. We ask Allah to grant you the strength to carry out
these great acts of obedience. We do not see anything more fitting for
you, due to your illness, than the words of remembrance which
bringabout great rewards fromthe Lord of the worlds if said. 'Abdullah
ibn Busr (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that a man said: O
Messenger of Allah, the laws of Islam have become many for me, tell me
something I can cling to. He said: "Your tongue should remain moist
with the remembrance of Allah." At-Tirmithee, Ibn Majah and others.
Authenticated by al-Albani.
Note that you may do great things -even with your sickness- such as
inviting towards Allah, maintaining family ties (even via telephone)
and buying booklets and having them distributed. We also bring your
attention to the great rewards in good conduct which is the heaviest
thing on the scale and which will elevate a person to the level of one
who spends his time praying and fasting. So donot let your illness be
an obstacle in carrying out those deeds which are notburdensome on
you.
May Allah grant you the ability to act upon what they contain
And Allah knows best.