What is the point of reconciliation between the permissibility for the Imam to accept gifts and the Prophet's—peace and blessings be upon him—prohibition against the zakat collector accepting gifts, as he said: "Why did he not sit in the house of his father and mother and see whether he would be given a gift or not?"

The forbidden gift is a bribe given to invalidate a right or validate a falsehood, and it is cursed in Islam. Similarly, it is not permissible to accept a gift if it is given to a person by virtue of their position, because it is considered an enticement for the giver and a dereliction of duty towards those who did not receive it. The reason for its prohibition is the authority (or position), not the gift itself.