The Ruling on Taking a Wage for Residing in the Mosque for the Adhan, Prayers, and the Friday Sermon
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Question:
This questioner says: From Maghrib, Arkama Abdul Qadir, regarding taking a wage for residing in the mosque for the adhan, the five daily prayers, and the Friday sermon, is this permissible, Honorable Shaykh?
Answer:
This is not called a wage; it is called a reward and assistance, and it is not called a wage. What is given from the public treasury or from the generous to the one who performs the service of the mosque is a reward, the intention of which is assistance to enable him to devote himself to this noble work. As for the one who performs this work seeking these coins or out of greed, meaning he has no intention of reward and no intention of worship, but his aim is only to obtain these coins, this falls under the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Hud 11:15] He will give them in full [Hud 11:15-16].
Shaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) established a chapter in his book al-Tawhid titled "A Chapter on the Shirk of a Person Seeking the World with His Deed." So whoever takes religion as a means to obtain the world, he becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) and is threatened with this warning. But if he takes wealth as a means to worship and obedience to Allah, he is rewarded and is a doer of good. One must be alert to this: whoever takes worship as a means to obtain wealth, his deed is nullified, and he is threatened with the Fire, and this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah. And whoever does the opposite, taking wealth for the sake of worshipping Allah, to use it to help him in worshipping Allah, he is a doer of good. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
This questioner says: From Maghrib, Arkama Abdul Qadir, regarding taking a wage for residing in the mosque for the adhan, the five daily prayers, and the Friday sermon, is this permissible, Honorable Shaykh?
Answer:
This is not called a wage; it is called a reward and assistance, and it is not called a wage. What is given from the public treasury or from the generous to the one who performs the service of the mosque is a reward, the intention of which is assistance to enable him to devote himself to this noble work. As for the one who performs this work seeking these coins or out of greed, meaning he has no intention of reward and no intention of worship, but his aim is only to obtain these coins, this falls under the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments
مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا(15) Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived. (16) Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do.
إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لَا يُبْخَسُونَ أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا النَّارُShaykh Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhab (may Allah have mercy on him) established a chapter in his book al-Tawhid titled "A Chapter on the Shirk of a Person Seeking the World with His Deed." So whoever takes religion as a means to obtain the world, he becomes a mushrik (one who associates partners with Allah) and is threatened with this warning. But if he takes wealth as a means to worship and obedience to Allah, he is rewarded and is a doer of good. One must be alert to this: whoever takes worship as a means to obtain wealth, his deed is nullified, and he is threatened with the Fire, and this is shirk (associating partners with Allah) with Allah. And whoever does the opposite, taking wealth for the sake of worshipping Allah, to use it to help him in worshipping Allah, he is a doer of good. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 02/140 — archive.org (4:32)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.