They refuse to pray in congregation on the grounds that the imam charges a fee for leading the prayers!
Question

                My friends do not offer prayers in congregation, because the imam receives a salary, and they say that his only aim is to get paid. Is what they say correct? Is it the case that every imam who leads the people in prayer should his salary from the government?
Praise be to Allah.
		Offering prayer in congregation is a duty that is 
		obligatory upon men who are able to do it, and no one stays away from it 
		without an excuse except one who is a sinner and has deviated from the 
		path of guidance. 

	Muslim (654) narrated that Ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased 
	with him) said: Whoever would like to meet Allah, may He be exalted, 
	tomorrow as a Muslim, let him regularly offer these prayers where the call 
	to prayer is given, for Allah has prescribed the Sunnahs of guidance to your 
	Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and they (the prayers) 
	are among the Sunnahs of guidance. If you pray in your houses like this one 
	who stays away from the mosque prays in his house, you will have forsaken 
	the Sunnah of your Prophet, and if you forsake the Sunnah of your Prophet 
	you will go astray. There is no man who purifies himself and purifies 
	himself well, then he goes to one of these mosques, but Allah will record 
	one good deed for him for every step he takes, and will raise him in status 
	one degree thereby, and will erase one bad deed thereby. I remember when no 
	one would stay away from it but a hypocrite whose hypocrisy was known, and a 
	man would come staggering between two others in order to stand in the row. 

	It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with 
	him) said: A blind man came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be 
	upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, I do not have any guide to take me 
	to the mosque. And he asked the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of 
	Allah be upon him) to grant him a concession allowing him to pray in his 
	house, and he allowed him that. When he turned to leave, he called him back 
	and said: “Can you hear the call to prayer?” He said: Yes. He said: “Then 
	answer it.” 

	This hadith was also narrated by Abu Dawood (552), as 
	follows: “I cannot find any concession for you. 

	Ibn al-Mundhir said: 

	If there is no concession for a blind man, then it is more 
	appropriate that there should be no concession for one who is sighted. End 
	quote. 

	Al-Awsat 
	(4/134). See also: al-Mughni (2/3). 

	For more information on the evidence for it being obligatory 
	to offer prayer in congregation, please see the answer to question no.
	8918 

	Secondly: 

	If the imam receives a salary from the government, whether it 
	is paid for by the bayt al-maal (treasury) or a waqf to which he is 
	entitled, or otherwise, there is nothing wrong with that. 

	Al-Bahooti said in al-Kashshaaf (1/475): 

	If something is given to the imam without any conditions 
	being stipulated, there is nothing wrong with that according to the texts. 
	The same applies if that is given to him from the bayt al-maal or from a 
	waqf. End quote. 

	Shaykh al-Fawzaan was asked:

	I am an employee in waqf administration, and my job is to 
	lead religious rituals, in the sense that I act as an imam and receive a 
	salary for that. Is that permissible? Please note that I have no other 
	source of income. 

	The shaykh (may Allah preserve him) replied: 

	There is nothing wrong with you acting as an imam and 
	receiving what has been allocated for imams from the bayt al-maal of 
	financial help, because this is helping you to obey Allah. 

	This applies so long as your aim is not to seek worldly gain; 
	rather your aim is to seek that which is with Allah, may He be glorified and 
	exalted, and your acting as an imam is based on a desire for good, and you 
	are taking this salary in order to meet your needs so that your time will be 
	free to act as an imam. There is nothing wrong with this; rather it comes 
	under the heading of helping people to obey Allah, may He be glorified and 
	exalted, and what matters is the aims. 

	But if a person’s aim is worldly gain, and he is using 
	worship and acts of obedience as a means of attaining worldly gains, then 
	this is not permissible, and this is an invalid deed. End quote. 

	Al-Muntaqa min Fataawa al-Fawzaan 
	(49/49-50) 

	But if what the imam is paid comes from people’s donations, 
	there is also nothing wrong with that, if he has not made any stipulations 
	in that regard; rather whatever they give him he accepts, whether it is 
	small or great. 

	Abu Dawood said: I heard Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) 
	when he was asked about an imam who said: I will lead you in prayer in 
	Ramadan in return for such and such of money. He said: I ask Allah to keep 
	us safe and sound; who would pray behind such a man? And it was narrated 
	from him that he said: Do not pray behind one who does not give zakaah. And 
	he said: Do not pray behind one who stipulates payment, but there is nothing 
	wrong with them giving the money without stipulating anything.

	End quote from al-Mughni (2/9). 

	Ibn Nujaym (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

	They said: If he has not stipulated that they should give him 
	anything, but they know that he is in need, so they collect something for 
	him every time, that is good and it is halaal for him. 

	End quote from al-Bahr ar-Raa’iq (1/268) 

	Thirdly: 

	From the above it is clear that simply taking a salary from 
	the government, or accepting gifts and payment for acting as an imam is not 
	something for which an imam should be criticised or blamed, because perhaps 
	he is taking it in an Islamically acceptable manner in which there is 
	nothing objectionable. In fact some scholars are of the view that it is 
	permissible for him to receive a salary in all cases, even if the imam is 
	not poor, and even if he stipulates that they should do that. This is a 
	reasonable view among some Maaliki, Shaafa‘i and Hanbali fuqaha’. 

	See: Akhdh al-Maal ‘ala A‘maal al-Qurab by ‘Aadil 
	Shaaheen (1/206-220) 

	If that is the case, then with regard to such matters, which 
	are subject to ijtihaad, the one who holds a different view should not be 
	rebuked, if this is what he believes and thinks most likely to be correct. 
	So it is more appropriate to say that he should not be criticised or blamed 
	for that. 

	Fourthly: 

	Finding out about the imam’s aim in acting as an imam, and 
	determining that he has no goal except acquiring money, is not something 
	that people are usually able to do; rather that matter should be left to 
	Allah, and the imam should be treated according to what appears to be the 
	case. 

	The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon 
	him) said: 

	“I have not been instructed to examine people’s hearts or 
	open their chests (to find out what their real intentions are).” Agreed 
	upon. 

	If it so happens that we find out about that, and come to 
	know that he is sinning because of that intention, the mere fact that the 
	imam has committed a sin does not give us an excuse to refrain from playing 
	in congregation. Rather, whenever it is possible to pray in congregation 
	behind an imam who is better than him and more religiously committed, that 
	should be done, but if it is not possible, it is not permissible for anyone 
	to refrain from praying in congregation just for this reason. This is one of 
	the basic teachings of the Sunnah. Otherwise, if people were to stop 
	attending Jumu‘ah prayer and prayers in congregation just because the imam 
	has committed a sin, they would not be able to establish the prayer behind 
	anyone else. 

	At-Tahhaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his 
	‘Aqeedah (45): 

	We think that we should pray behind anyone, righteous or 
	evildoer, among the people of the qiblah, and we should offer the funeral 
	prayer for any of them who dies. 

	Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) 
	said: 

	If it is not possible to prevent (from leading the prayer) 
	one who openly practices innovation or commits evil, except by causing 
	greater harm than the harm of his leading the prayer, then it is not 
	permissible to do that. Rather people should pray behind him so long as it 
	is not possible to pray in congregation except behind him, as in the case of 
	Jumu‘ah, Eid prayers and prayers in congregation, if there is no other imam 
	apart from him . Hence the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them) used to 
	offer Jumu‘ah prayer and prayers in congregation behind al-Hajjaaj and al-Mukhtaar 
	ibn Abi ‘Ubayd ath-Thaqafi, and others, because missing Jumu‘ah and prayers 
	in congregation leads to worse consequences than offering prayers behind an 
	imam who is an evildoer, especially if staying away from the prayers will 
	not ward off his evil, and all it will do is mean abandoning an Islamic 
	interest without warding off that evil. Hence those who stay away from 
	Jumu‘ah prayer and prayers in congregation behind any unjust ruler were 
	regarded by the early generations and the imams as being among the people of 
	innovation. But if it is possible to offer Jumu‘ah prayer and prayers in 
	congregation behind a righteous imam, then that is better than doing so 
	behind one who is an evildoer. 

	Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa 
	(23/343) 

	What must be done is to advise these people of the obligation 
	to establish the prayer in the houses of Allah, which Allah has ordered to 
	be raised (to be cleaned, and to be honoured), in them His Name is glorified 
	(cf. 24:36); and of the obligation to attend them with the Muslims, and 
	attend prayers in congregation, and strive to establish bonds among the 
	Muslims, and prevent division, suspicion, and alienation among people. 

	And Allah knows best.