but rather a right to which you are entitled from the public treasury. The government’s role is no more than to distribute the public treasury among those entitled to it. For example, this is a teacher, so he receives what is appropriate to his work; this is a muezzin, so he receives what is appropriate to his work; this is an imam, so he receives what is appropriate to his work; and this is a caller to Allah, so he receives what is appropriate to his work; and so on. That is, the government’s role in this is only distribution and administration. As for you, you have a rightful entitlement. Everyone who performs work that benefits the Muslim community has a right to support from the public treasury in proportion to the outcome and benefit of that work. Even one who does no work has a right to support from the public treasury, such as the poor, orphans, and those similar to them.
In any case, this matter has become unclear to some upright people, and this is why they ask about it so often. Some of them may be fully qualified to serve as an imam—being a competent reciter and jurist—yet he is reluctant because he will receive an allowance from the public treasury. We say: Praise be to Allah, you are not now a hired employee; rather, you are entitled to this because of this righteous work and the benefit it brings to the Muslims. There is no blame upon you whatsoever. Thus, whenever someone raises this objection, it should be explained to him.
There remains the matter of Hajj: is it permissible to hire someone to perform Hajj—for example, for a person to hire someone to perform Hajj on his behalf—or not?
We say: First, if the Hajj is obligatory and the person hiring is able, then such hiring is invalid, because he is required to perform the obligation himself, as he is physically and financially able. But if he is disabled by an incapacity from which recovery is not expected, and his Hajj is obligatory, then we have previously mentioned under agency that it is permissible for him to appoint someone to perform it on his behalf. We cited as evidence the hadith of the woman from Khath'am, who said: “My father has been overtaken by Allah’s obligation upon His servants to perform Hajj while he is an elderly man unable to remain seated upon a riding mount,”