Ruling on appointing a substitute for the imam when one has other work
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What is the ruling on a person who works as the caretaker of a mosque, receives a salary, and hires an Indian worker to work in the mosque in his place, giving him 300 riyals from the salary and keeping the rest for himself, while he does nothing?
I have been informed by the officials in the Endowments Authority that the position of caretaker is not intended for a specific individual, but rather for the work itself. So, as long as a person secures the caretaking and cleaning of this mosque for them, it is fine by any means.And they said to me: There is no harm if a person takes the caretaker position and has a worker, or hires a worker to do this;They say: We see no harm in this; because all that matters to us is the work itself.
As for the imam, it is not permissible for him to do so. If an imam wants to leave the position of imam and appoint another man in his place, it is not permissible; because the imam may be intended for his specific person, whether because he is a reciter, or because he is a scholar, or something similar to that.
Moreover, I see that scrupulousness dictates leaving this, and that a person should either do the thing himself or leave it for other needy people. And the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Ikhtiyarat: Among those who consume wealth by falsehood are those who take up positions and appoint others in their place for a small amount of what they received.
And this applies exactly to the issue I mentioned.
So I see that scrupulousness dictates that a person not do this; but if he does it with the consent of the Endowments Authority, there is no blame on him.
I have been informed by the officials in the Endowments Authority that the position of caretaker is not intended for a specific individual, but rather for the work itself. So, as long as a person secures the caretaking and cleaning of this mosque for them, it is fine by any means.And they said to me: There is no harm if a person takes the caretaker position and has a worker, or hires a worker to do this;They say: We see no harm in this; because all that matters to us is the work itself.
As for the imam, it is not permissible for him to do so. If an imam wants to leave the position of imam and appoint another man in his place, it is not permissible; because the imam may be intended for his specific person, whether because he is a reciter, or because he is a scholar, or something similar to that.
Moreover, I see that scrupulousness dictates leaving this, and that a person should either do the thing himself or leave it for other needy people. And the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his book al-Ikhtiyarat: Among those who consume wealth by falsehood are those who take up positions and appoint others in their place for a small amount of what they received.
And this applies exactly to the issue I mentioned.
So I see that scrupulousness dictates that a person not do this; but if he does it with the consent of the Endowments Authority, there is no blame on him.