Accepting Wages for Teaching the Quran

Answered by Mufti Mohamed-Umer Esmail

Question: Assalam uAlaikum Honorable Teacher,

May Allah bless you for you hard work and grant you success in this life and in the life to come!

Dear Teacher, I would like to request you to please please take the time out and answer these questions.

1. Is it permissible to take money for teaching the Quran?

2. What if someone has another another source of Income, such as another Job, is it still permissible for him to accept payment for teaching Quran if he teaches part time?

3. I have read a hadith that I was hoping you could explain it: “The thing for which you most deserve to take payment is the Book of Allaah, (narrated by al-Bukhaari) and yet there are other hadith that warn against eating and fulfilling needs through the Quran. How do we reconcile the two?

4. Shaykh I want your personal advice regarding what will be the most beneficial for helping the Muslims: Learning the religion and teaching Quran full time or practicing medicine and teaching Quran part time? Alhumdulillah Allah has placed great love my heart for His Speech. However, I’m currently in college and indecisive about what I want to do in the future. Your advice is much appreciated

Answer: Wa alaikum as salam

1. In the Hanafi School, the latter scholars allowed accepting wages for teaching Quran, imamat, giving adhan etcetera due to the urgency of those performing these duties to have a livelihood.

2. In this case, though permissible it would be better if one did not accept any wages for teaching Quran.

3. The Hanafi School of Thought originally adopted the view of impermissibility based on the second Hadith you quoted. The Shafi School of Thought allowed it based on the first Hadith you quoted. One of the reasons why the earlier Hanafi Scholar disallowed it was because the Islamic state would compensate Imams and teachers. When this began to end, the latter day Scholars among the Hanafi School of Thought allowed it due to necessity.

4. Many factors need to be looked into before you decide. A question like this would best be answered by your spiritual guide (pir/murshid/shaikh). Advice from parents should be sought as well. The first option would be more rewarding, but the second is also rewarding. Help should be sought through istikharah as well.

Allah knows best.

Shaykh Mufti Mohamed-Umer Esmail is a Canadian born scholar who started his quest for Islamic knowledge at a young age and continued formal studies of the Islamic sciences for thirteen years.  He acquired Ijazas (teaching certifications) in Hanafi Fiqh, Hadith, Tafsir, Tajwid and the Ten Qur’anic Qira’at from the Institute for Islamic Studies in Dewsbury, UK.  He went on to Karachi, Pakistan where he specialized in Fiqh and Ifta’ (legal verdicts), in addition to studying Islamic Finance under the tutelage of Justice (Rtd) Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani.  He also received Ijazas in 10 major books of hadith from world renowned scholars.

After graduating, Mufti Umer Esmail worked six years as the Imam at the North Austin Muslim Community Center in Austin, Texas. In addition to leading prayers, he taught classes in Islamic Sciences, including Arabic, Tajwid, Islamic Finance, Fiqh, Aqidah, Hadith and Tafsir. He has been the spiritual Advisor for the Austin Chapter of MYNA since 2003. He also teaches Quranic recitation (tajwid) for the SeekersGuidance Online Academy.