The ruling on a salary in exchange for leading the prayer

Question:
And may Allah bless you. Honorable Shaykh, he says: I have a desire to lead the prayer in a mosque so that I may focus on my prayer and be mindful of what I say in this prayer, and also because of my desire for the salary paid in exchange for that. So should I proceed with leading the prayer, or should I refrain?

Answer:
If you have the qualification to lead the prayer and you know from yourself that you will carry it out, then there is no doubt that this is a good matter. What you are given as a reward or salary is a right among the rights of the imam, and it is one of the lawful expenditures for the interests of the Muslims. There is no doubt that the imam needs financial support and maintenance because he will devote himself to leading the prayer, so he needs this reward or salary. There is no blame on him for that, provided his intention is not for the salary and the greed of this world and exploiting the mosque. If his intention is to draw near to Allah the Exalted, and he makes use of the money given to him, then he is rewarded for that, and this is what Allah has made permissible for him. Yes.