The ruling on the imam of a mosque failing to lead the prayer and taking the full salary

The questioner : And the questioner says: Because he is the imam of the mosque, and he says: My father used to pray for me from his two houses while I was away, and he would give me part of the salary, or he would take it and give me the rest. Is there anything on him for this? Because of my absence, they are in a state of confusion regarding the matter of the mosque, as they have faces in the intention that I mentioned, and the peace is upon him.

The Shaykh : This is like the first case. It is not permissible for a person to fail to lead the prayer in the mosque for which he has committed to being the imam, except for a compelling excuse. Accordingly, it is not permissible for him to appoint someone to pray in his place, whether that person is Saudi, Egyptian, Syrian, Lebanese, Palestinian, Mauritanian, Pakistani, or Indian, absolutely not, except for an excuse. And if there is a compelling excuse, two things are necessary: the first is to consult the officials in charge of the mosques, meaning the mosque administration in the country, and the second is the approval of the neighborhood regarding the imam appointed as his deputy. As for the negligence, as it appears from the question, where he takes the full salary and then places someone there and gives him a portion of the salary, this is a mistake.