Some imams in the mosques, when the month of Ramadan comes, for example, hire someone to act as their substitute in the mosque and go to the Haram to fast there, giving the hired person half of the salary.
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The questioner : May Allah reward you. The questioner, Ali from Khamis Mushait, says: Your Eminence, please issue a ruling on my question, may you be rewarded. Some imams in the mosques, when the month of Ramadan comes, for example, hire someone to act as their substitute in the mosque and go to the Haram to fast there, giving the hired person half of the salary. Is the remainder of the salary lawful for this imam, the imam of the mosque?
The Shaykh : The question should be: Is this lawful, even if he gave the substitute the entire salary?
I see that this is not permissible to do, to leave the mosque for which his presence is obligatory and go to Makkah. Because going to Makkah is at most what we say is a recommended practice, or at least we say it is voluntary. This is the highest we say about it. And his performance of the obligatory duty of his position is obligatory. So it is not permissible for a person to leave his position, which he is obligated to perform, and go to Makkah to fast Ramadan there.
Or to leave his position and perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) in some of the mosques, as some people do. And this is from ignorance. Performing the obligatory duty of the position is better than voluntary acts, better than performing 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage), let alone staying in Makkah for the entire month of Ramadan. That is, if he said, "Should I perform my duty or perform 'Umrah, which is better?" we would say, "Perform your duty and leave the 'Umrah." But if he wants to perform 'Umrah in two days or something similar, due to the ease of reaching Makkah now, and praise be to Allah, I hope there is no harm in this. He goes for a day or two by plane and returns. Yes.
The Shaykh : The question should be: Is this lawful, even if he gave the substitute the entire salary?
I see that this is not permissible to do, to leave the mosque for which his presence is obligatory and go to Makkah. Because going to Makkah is at most what we say is a recommended practice, or at least we say it is voluntary. This is the highest we say about it. And his performance of the obligatory duty of his position is obligatory. So it is not permissible for a person to leave his position, which he is obligated to perform, and go to Makkah to fast Ramadan there.
Or to leave his position and perform i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) in some of the mosques, as some people do. And this is from ignorance. Performing the obligatory duty of the position is better than voluntary acts, better than performing 'Umrah (the lesser pilgrimage), let alone staying in Makkah for the entire month of Ramadan. That is, if he said, "Should I perform my duty or perform 'Umrah, which is better?" we would say, "Perform your duty and leave the 'Umrah." But if he wants to perform 'Umrah in two days or something similar, due to the ease of reaching Makkah now, and praise be to Allah, I hope there is no harm in this. He goes for a day or two by plane and returns. Yes.