Secondly, the Imam, though he may be paid (I say ‘maybe’ because that is not a condition of being Imam) is the Spiritual Leader of the community and not merely an employee of the masjid. Therefore he must be a member of the Board and a participant in all decision making. Especially because many of the decisions will be left to him to implement. Evaluation of the Imam’s performance is most welcome but must be done in a participative way by goal setting at the beginning of the year and ongoing reviews 2-3 times a year and a final year ending assessment – all of them done in a participatory manner with the President of the Board and the Imam.

While the salary of the Imam can’t be compared to a corporate salary, it must be sufficient in itself for him to live his life comfortably and without financial stress. That may differ from place to place but the Board must decide in all fairness and justice with Allahﷻ as the witness. I have heard some Board members say something like, “Why does he need that?” Implying that whatever element of the Imam’s compensation and benefits that were being discussed, is too much for him (since he is ‘only an employee’). This mentality must change. A professional assessment of salary and benefits must be done in comparison to other similar masaajid and that must form the compensation package. It must not be left to the generosity or lack thereof of any board. This is best for the Imam and those who sit in judgement on him because one day they will be asked by Allahﷻ why they considered the Imam to be a lesser human being than themselves.

Once again, many thanks for this excellent article.

You may like to see my article on the subject of selecting Board Members. Comments welcome

https://yawarbaig.com/selecting-members-for-masjid-boards/

So, Muslims are encouraged to regularly give from their wealth, perform good works for their faith, fund and maintain their Mosques for the sake of God, while Imams seek higher wages (while at the same time charging their communities for their services).

Because he loves the masjid and not the Worldly gain?

السلام عليكم

Why don’t you think the imams should be paid like lawyers? Although imams didn’t ask to be paid like them. All what they asked is a dignified life with a decent income for themselves and their families. Why your child should dress and go to a better school than the imams child.

Also please note imams study more than lawyers. Hifz Quran 3 years, Arabic and fiqh 4-5 years, fatwas 1-2 years. Some of them have masters and doctorates from regular non Islamic universities. So they finished all their traditional Islamic studies and they also study at secular universities. And believe me brother Ali from my observation if the imam didn’t do both kinds of studies (traditional and secular ) he can not serve us properly.

” ما أرسلنا من رسول الا بلسان قومه ليبين لهم ” سورة ابراهيم 4

“And we did not sent any messenger (but) speaking in the language of his people. So that he might clearly convey the message to them” sura Ibrahim 4
Speaking the language means knows what is the culture, way of thinking and how do people do things in a particular community. Even here in australia a South African imam who is well versed with the English language will have problems settling in, because he does not understand the culture of the people. He was not brought up in the community.

A mosque not having enough funds to spare for their imam is like a company who spends exorbitantly on an office building while neglecting its employees. The prophets mosque was a simple structure. It’s roof could not hold off heavy rain. Why would a mosque need a dome which will cost 1/2 a million when they can do with a simple regular roof. Why an imported minbar from Turkey which will cost 100k while a 50 bucks chair can do the job.
The key to solve this problem is to attract young and talented youth from our community to become our imams.
Brother Ali, if we don’t do this islam will die with us. If our knowledge of Quran and Hadith is 50 percent in this current generation, it will be 20 percent in our children’s generation. It will keep on declining.

Imams role is very very important brother Ali. It is one of the most important roles for the preservation of our cultural and Islamic identity.

Thank you for your response.

So, what do you believe an Imam that caters (ie. Youth, counsel, interfaith, etc.) for a large community be paid and how much should an Imam that leads 5 daily prayers, visits and makes phone calls be paid an hour or every year?

I’m sure you can appreciate that if Imams are paid wages similar to that of lawyers and doctors; there would be nothing left for the Mosque, which ordinary Muslims built to serve the faithful – not to line the pockets of Imams with money, capital and wealth to keep for themselves.

Dear Ha,
With all due respect, however I, like I’m certain many other Muslims in the workforce, experience regular and also ongoing issues, problems and pressures at work.Many of us are overworked and take work at home and also work on weekends too without receiving any extra pay.
Maybe I have misunderstood you, but I don’t quite understand why the Mosque needs to pay for medical bills associated to any family member of the Imam?

Dear brother Ali:
Please do not compare your 9.00 – am-5.00 pm day job with the imams hours. You only go to work once in the morning, having an hour lunch break, and 30 min break for brunch. And at the end of your day you get back home at 5.00. With annual paid holidays, sick leave, health insurance etc…

Very rare do the above working conditions you find them available for imams.
We had an imam years back he didn’t have Medicare card and his wife gave birth, the mosque said to him he has to pay her medical bills (close to $7000). It was an absult disgrace. If it wasn’t for the generosity of the hospital director (by the way he was a Christian) the poor imam would have suffered a lot.
I taught a brilliant child 15 years ago the Quran and he became hafiz, he now works as an electrician. Why ? because people do not appreciate the ulema.

Br. Ali, I see we are talking about different Imams here. I am not talking about an Imam who leads prayers and answers phone calls. I am talking about someone who is a religious director who prepares for lectures, khutbas, reminders, counsels, attends interfaith meetings, works with the youth etc. I am talking about Imams who cater to a large community. In any profession, chatting over tea is considered a break. I don’t think anyone will disagree about that. Also khutbas do not take 2 hours to prepare. As a speaker myself, I know it takes several hours to prepare for a lecture let alone a khutba.