We see in many Muslim countries the hiring of a reciter to recite the Qur'an. Is it permissible for him to take a wage for his recitation? And does the one who pays him the wage commit a sin?
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The questioner : We see in many Muslim countries the hiring of a reciter to recite the Qur'an. Is it permissible for the reciter to take a wage for his recitation? And does the one who pays him the wage commit a sin?
The Shaykh : Hiring someone to recite the Qur'an is an invalid hire that is not permissible, neither for the one who pays nor for the one who takes. The reciter who recites has no reward that benefits the one for whom it is recited, because he sought the worldly life with his deed. And Allah the Exalted said:[Hud 11:15-16] So if someone hires a person to recite the Qur'an over the spirit of a deceased person, for example, as they say.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then this hire is invalid, and the reciter has no reward that reaches the deceased. And what the reciter takes is consuming wealth by an invalid means, so it is not permissible for anyone to hire a person to recite the Qur'an, neither for himself nor for one of his deceased.
As for reciting the Qur'an not for the reward, but for a benefit that extends to others, such as if we hire a person to teach us the Qur'an and he recites to us for the sake of teaching, or if we hire a person to recite to a sick person so that he may be healed, then there is no harm in that. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih al-Bukhari 5737 So we must know the difference between this and that. Whoever is hired for the reward of the recitation has no reward, and the hire is not permissible. And whoever is hired for an extending benefit, such as teaching or reciting to a sick person and the like, then there is no harm in that. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a listener from al-Qasim who says.
The Shaykh : Hiring someone to recite the Qur'an is an invalid hire that is not permissible, neither for the one who pays nor for the one who takes. The reciter who recites has no reward that benefits the one for whom it is recited, because he sought the worldly life with his deed. And Allah the Exalted said:
(15) Whoever desires the life of this world and its adornments - We fully repay them for their deeds therein, and they therein will not be deprived. (16) Those are the ones for whom there is not in the Hereafter but the Fire. And lost is what they did therein, and worthless is what they used to do.
مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لا يُبْخَسُونَ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ إِلَّا النَّارُ وَحَبِطَ مَا صَنَعُوا فِيهَا وَبَاطِلٌ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Then this hire is invalid, and the reciter has no reward that reaches the deceased. And what the reciter takes is consuming wealth by an invalid means, so it is not permissible for anyone to hire a person to recite the Qur'an, neither for himself nor for one of his deceased.
As for reciting the Qur'an not for the reward, but for a benefit that extends to others, such as if we hire a person to teach us the Qur'an and he recites to us for the sake of teaching, or if we hire a person to recite to a sick person so that he may be healed, then there is no harm in that. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
You are most entitled to take wages for doing a Ruqya with Allah's Book.
إن أحق ما أخذتم عليه أجراً كتاب اللهThe questioner : May Allah bless you. This is a listener from al-Qasim who says.