Ruling on taking a salary for leading a mosque where only congregational prayers are held

Question:
There is a mosque with an imam where the congregation is only held on Friday and for the two Eid prayers. The mosque is located in the desert. Is the salary this imam receives lawful or not?

Answer:
As long as a salary has been assigned to him for performing the Friday prayer, there is no harm in him taking it. However, if there is a group of people who pray the five daily prayers, he is obligated to pray with them, and it is not permissible for him to be absent. If there is no one there, there is no blame on him; it is sufficient for him to lead the Friday prayer and the sermon on Friday, and likewise on Eid. The salary is permissible, and there is no blame on him regarding it, unless there is lying involved, such as deceiving the Waqf authorities or the responsible officials by claiming that it is in a populated area and that there is a congregation there. In other words, if they deceive the responsible officials, that is not permissible; deception is not permissible.
As for if the responsible officials know that it is a mosque with no congregation, only Friday prayers, and they have assigned a salary to the imam, then there is no harm in that. Also, the desert dwellers are not obligated to gather for the congregation if they are in the desert; the desert dwellers pray the midday prayer. However, if there are people sitting around the mosque, residing at the mosque, even if it is three or four, with a minimum of three settled residents who pray Friday, there is no harm. And whoever from the desert dwellers attends with them prays Friday with them.