What is the ruling on an imam making a fee a condition for leading the prayer, or for delivering the sermon?
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Question:
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. A message was sent from Libya by the listener Ibrahim Bashir. He says: They have an imam who does not pray the festival prayer with them, especially the Festival of Breaking the Fast, unless they give him from the zakah. What is the guidance of Shaykh Salih?
Answer:
If he conditions that he will not pray with them unless they give him from the zakah, then the prayer behind him is invalid. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about a man who says, "I will pray Ramadan with you for so much and so much." He said, "And who would pray behind this man?"
Acts of worship are not to be made a field for trade or profession, because they are acts of worship by which one draws near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). They are not to be taken for the sake of greed for this world, nor hired out for, nor a wage sought for them. However, if he is given something without having made it a condition, there is no harm in him taking it. If he is given something without having made it a condition, there is no harm in him taking it. Yes.
May Allah reward you with good, and may He do you good. A message was sent from Libya by the listener Ibrahim Bashir. He says: They have an imam who does not pray the festival prayer with them, especially the Festival of Breaking the Fast, unless they give him from the zakah. What is the guidance of Shaykh Salih?
Answer:
If he conditions that he will not pray with them unless they give him from the zakah, then the prayer behind him is invalid. Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked about a man who says, "I will pray Ramadan with you for so much and so much." He said, "And who would pray behind this man?"
Acts of worship are not to be made a field for trade or profession, because they are acts of worship by which one draws near to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). They are not to be taken for the sake of greed for this world, nor hired out for, nor a wage sought for them. However, if he is given something without having made it a condition, there is no harm in him taking it. If he is given something without having made it a condition, there is no harm in him taking it. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم اشتراط الإمام الأجرة مقابل إمامته، أو لأجل خطبته؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.