Is it permissible to take a wage for the adhan and iqamah?
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The questioner : Is it permissible to take a wage for the adhan and iqamah? I hope you will provide me with information on this.
The Shaykh : The adhan and iqamah are acts of worship; indeed, they are a collective obligation. It is not permissible to take a worldly wage for acts of worship. However, what is currently taken from the public treasury by imams and mu'adhdhins is not a wage, but rather a provision from the public treasury allocated to those who perform this public service, the benefit of which is general for all people. Therefore, there is no blame on the imam or the mu'adhdhin in taking a salary. However, the imam and the mu'adhdhin should not make the salary their primary concern, nor should they intend that if it were not for the salary, they would not call the adhan or lead the people in prayer. Rather, they should make the salary secondary. In that case, nothing will be deducted from their reward. But if their only desire is the salary they receive from the public treasury, their reward may be greatly diminished, or they may be deprived of the reward entirely. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. She has a final question, she says, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : The adhan and iqamah are acts of worship; indeed, they are a collective obligation. It is not permissible to take a worldly wage for acts of worship. However, what is currently taken from the public treasury by imams and mu'adhdhins is not a wage, but rather a provision from the public treasury allocated to those who perform this public service, the benefit of which is general for all people. Therefore, there is no blame on the imam or the mu'adhdhin in taking a salary. However, the imam and the mu'adhdhin should not make the salary their primary concern, nor should they intend that if it were not for the salary, they would not call the adhan or lead the people in prayer. Rather, they should make the salary secondary. In that case, nothing will be deducted from their reward. But if their only desire is the salary they receive from the public treasury, their reward may be greatly diminished, or they may be deprived of the reward entirely. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. She has a final question, she says, O honorable Shaykh.