Does working for a wage in religious or charitable institutions—such as administration or care in an orphanage, cleaning in an institution for Islamic sciences, or teaching the Arabic language—fall under the issue of dispute regarding taking wages for acts of obedience, or are these scenarios permissible by consensus?

The issue does not require complication; it is simpler than that. Scholars differentiate between purely devotional acts (ṭāʿāt and qurbāt maḥḍah), such as prayer, the call to prayer (adhān), and teaching the Qur’an, and non-purely devotional acts (qurbāt ghayr maḥḍah), such as ruqyah (Islamic exorcism), which combines being an act of devotion with being a medical treatment. Therefore, it is permissible to take a fee for it as a type of recompense (juʿālah) for the treatment, and not for teaching the Qur’an. This does not contradict the prohibition of taking a fee for conveying Islam and teaching the Qur’an.

Consequently, there is no harm in taking a fee for the three scenarios mentioned in the question, as they are not purely devotional acts. There is no conceivable dispute regarding the permissibility of taking a fee for works related to charitable deeds or Islamic sciences, such as building or furnishing mosques, managing Islamic institutions, selling food to an orphanage, or teaching the Arabic language. Even those who work on collecting zakat are permitted to take a fee.