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What is the ruling on the wage of a Tarawih Imam appointed by the Directorate of Endowments and seconded to a private company, who receives a salary from the company and for whom the workers collect another sum at the end of Ramadan?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Scholars have differed regarding the permissibility of taking a wage for leading prayers (Imamate). Some have forbidden it, while others have permitted it for someone in need, which is the view of the later Hanafis and some Hanbalis and Malikis, and it was chosen by Ibn Taymiyyah. Some Shafi'i jurists have allowed giving stipends to Imams on the basis that it is a form of ju'alah (reward for a task), not ijarah (rental/wage), or an act of benevolence (ihsan). Some of them believe that the wage is permissible in return for the Imam exerting himself by being present and performing the duty at a specific time. As for what workers collect for the Imam at the end of Ramadan, it is permissible because it is a voluntary donation from them without any prior condition.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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