What is the ruling on receiving a salary for religious positions, such as the call to prayer and others?

The questioner : The court appoints mu'adhdhins in accordance with the Shari'ah, especially in villages where there are no courts, and you are obligated to contract with this one.The Shaykh .

The Shaykh : In this case, it is considered a salary, and there is nothing preventing it, provided he does not take it as a wage. He does not intend to take it as a wage, but rather as a salary from the state. There is a difference between a wage and a salary; this difference is a difference of intention. It is like a man who satisfies his desire with his wife, who is lawful for him, and a man who satisfies his desire with what is forbidden for him. Both satisfy their desire, but one does so with what is lawful and the other with what is forbidden. Taking a wage for worship is forbidden, but if he is given a salary as compensation, like anything else, such as Abu Bakr, when he assumed the caliphate, they gave him a salary. He did not take it as a wage, but as a salary, because the affairs of the state do not function without such employment.

The questioner : Now, if a penalty is incurred for delaying payment, I bought a car for X dinars, and a penalty clause was included in the contract stating that if he delays the payment date, he must pay five hundred dinars in addition to the principal amount as a penalty. Is this permissible?

The Shaykh : This is riba.