The school has decided to start a Hifz department. In the beginning the head of the institution decided that no fee would be charged to the students.
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
(May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked
this question:
I work
in a big institution in UAE. The school has decided to start a Hifz department.
In the beginning the head of the institution decided that no fee would be
charged to the students. But, later she changed her mind and decided that each
student would be charged with a certain amount so as to bring seriousness and
regular attendance. The head of the institution decided that this fee which the
school would be getting would be in the form of Sadaqah-e-jaariya which will
help to educate poor and the underprivileged in
(There may be some grammatical and spelling
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confidentiality.)
Answer:
Money for teaching quran
In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask
for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever
He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that
there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2216 Narrated by Imran ibn Husayn
When Imran came upon a story-teller who was
reciting the Qur'an and then asking for payment he first uttered the words,
"We belong to Allah and to Him do we return" and then told that he
had heard Allah's Messenger (saws) say, "When anyone recites the Quran,
let him ask a reward for it only from Allah, for people will arise who will
recite the Qur'an and ask a reward for it from men!"
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2210 Narrated by Abidah al-Mulayki
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "Do not
make the Quran a pillow, but recite it as it deserves to be recited during the
night and the day. Recite it aloud, chant it, and consider its contents,
perhaps you may prosper; but do not seek to obtain reward for it in this world,
for it provides rewards."
Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2217 Narrated by Buraydah ibn al-Hasib
Allah's Messenger (saws) said, "If
anyone recites the Quran, seeking thereby to receive a living from people, he
will come on the Day of Resurrection with his face as a fleshless bone."
The absolute majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam
are unanimous in their opinion that to seek any personal or material benefit when
reciting the Quran when doing ‘dawah’ or inviting people to Islam is
impermissible.
But they hold it acceptable and permissible if an
institution or a teacher were to charge a nominal fee to teach their students
the art and science of reciting the Quran.
The ‘qiyaas’ of the opinion of the scholars who hold it permissible for
a teacher to charge a nominal fee to teach their students the art of reciting
the Quran is based on the hadith whereby the Messenger of Allah (saws) married
a man to a woman for the ‘mehr’ of having memorized some Surahs of the Quran.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 7.66 Narrated by Sahl bin Sad
A woman came to Allah's Messenger (saws) and
said, "I present myself (to you) (for marriage)." She stayed for a
long while, then a man said, "If you (O Prophet (saws)) are not in need of
her, then marry her to me." The Prophet (saws) said, "Have you got
anything in order to pay her Mahr?" He said, "I have nothing.” The
Prophet (saws) said, "Try (to find something), even if it were an iron
ring." But he was not able to find (even that). The Prophet (saws) said (to him), "Do you
memorize something of the Qur'an?" "Yes," he said, "Such
Sura and Such Sura," naming those Suras. The Prophet (saws) then said,
"We have married her to you for what you know of the Quran (by
heart)."
Your Question: We
referred some authentic hadith and found that it was not allowed to charge fee
on the learning of Quran. Please could you throw some light on this confusing
situation?
The majority of the scholars and jurists in Islam are of
the opinion that the impermissibility of seeking a material benefit for the
recitation of the Glorious Quran implies to those who do ‘dawah’ and invite
people to Islam, or to those who are called upon to recite the Quran in a
gathering, etc. The seeking of such
compensation when reciting the Glorious Quran is impermissible in Islam.
But if an institution or a teacher charges their students
a nominal fee for their efforts in teaching them the art and science of
reciting the Quran, there is no harm.
Thus in conclusion, to seek a material reward for merely reciting
the Glorious Quran is absolutely discouraged and deemed impermissible; but if
an institution or a teacher seeks a nominal compensation or fee for their
efforts to teach their students the art of reciting the Quran,
there is no harm. And Allah Alone Knows
Best.
Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to
Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only
Source of Strength.
Your brother and
well wisher in Islam,
Burhan
Wister