He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

A man established an endowment for a school, stipulating that its income be used for maintenance, and that two thirds go to the jurists, the school and its officeholders. He also stipulated that the administrator act in accordance with the best interests of the endowment. This arrangement has continued for thirty years. The school’s mats and the filling of its cistern have been paid for out of the jurists’ stipends, because they have periods of absence and places elsewhere. The imam’s monthly allowance is twenty dirhams, and the muezzin receives the same.

After this matter arose, the jurists asked the officeholders to share in the deductions made from their stipends for the mats and the filling of the cistern. These officeholders are performing their duties. Even if they have no other post, is the administrator obliged to agree to the jurists’ request and reduce these poor men’s already modest allowances, or not?

He answered:

Praise be to Allah. If the administrator considers it appropriate to give priority to officeholders who are paid for specified work—such as the imam and the muezzin—he is right to do so, provided that what they receive does not exceed the customary remuneration for people in comparable positions. Likewise, he must give priority to the revenue collector, the porter, the craftsman, the builder and others who are paid for work they perform to collect the revenue or maintain the premises: they are to receive their wages first.