Taking a fee for teaching the Qur'an and calling to Allah
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
The questioner: Does the statement of Allah the Exalted,[At-Tur 52:40], imply that it is not permissible to take a wage for teaching the Qur'an and the Sunnah, and for calling people to Allah, if the caller is poor or devotes himself to it?
Answer:
If he does not call and does not teach the Qur'an except for a fee, or teaches something else, but if he does not call to Allah except for a fee, then he is not calling to Allah; rather, he is calling to himself and seeking money. It is not permissible for him to take a fee from people. However, if the one in authority gives him some of his salary to help him and allow him to devote himself to calling to Allah, this is not a fee; it is sustenance from the public treasury. The public treasury was established for charitable projects, such as education, the judiciary, issuing fatwas, and calling to Allah the Exalted. These are projects of the public treasury. So, there is no sin on him regarding that sustenance from the public treasury; it is not a fee, but rather assistance to carry out these great duties. So, is there a difference between a fee and assistance from the public treasury? Yes.
As for taking a fee for teaching, there is nothing wrong with it. For teaching the Qur'an, there is nothing wrong with it. The fee depends on that, and on ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation); there is no obstacle. But for da'wah (calling to Islam). Yes.
The questioner: Does the statement of Allah the Exalted,
Or do you, [O Muhammad], ask of them a payment, so they are by debt burdened down?
أَمْ تَسْأَلُهُمْ أَجْرًا فَهُم مِّن مَّغْرَمٍ مُّثْقَلُونَAnswer:
If he does not call and does not teach the Qur'an except for a fee, or teaches something else, but if he does not call to Allah except for a fee, then he is not calling to Allah; rather, he is calling to himself and seeking money. It is not permissible for him to take a fee from people. However, if the one in authority gives him some of his salary to help him and allow him to devote himself to calling to Allah, this is not a fee; it is sustenance from the public treasury. The public treasury was established for charitable projects, such as education, the judiciary, issuing fatwas, and calling to Allah the Exalted. These are projects of the public treasury. So, there is no sin on him regarding that sustenance from the public treasury; it is not a fee, but rather assistance to carry out these great duties. So, is there a difference between a fee and assistance from the public treasury? Yes.
As for taking a fee for teaching, there is nothing wrong with it. For teaching the Qur'an, there is nothing wrong with it. The fee depends on that, and on ruqyah (healing by Qur'anic recitation); there is no obstacle. But for da'wah (calling to Islam). Yes.
Source
تفسير حزب المفصل، تفسير سورة القلم [ الآية 41 إلى آخر السورة ] — islamhouse.com (29:52)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.