❀ Prohibition of Receiving Payment for Reciting the Qur’an: Islamic Evidences ❀
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Pg. 69
What is the evidence for the prohibition of taking payment for reciting the Qur’an?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd!
The recitation of the Qur’an is an act of worship, and in Islamic law, it is prohibited and impermissible to receive compensation for acts of worship. There are multiple proofs from the Qur’an and Hadith on this matter, a few of which are presented below:
◄ Allah the Exalted says:
﴿وَلا تَشتَروا بِـٔايـٰتى ثَمَنًا قَليلًا ﴾
"And do not sell My verses for a small price."
(Surah al-Baqarah 41)
This verse is general in its ruling, forbidding any act where religion is exchanged for worldly gain.
◄ Imām Abū al-ʿĀliyah (رحمه الله) said:
"The meaning of this verse is that one must not take a wage for reciting or teaching the Qur’an."
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 1/83)
Abū Muḥammad al-Mukhladī (رحمه الله) narrates:
ʿAbdul Malik ibn Marwān said to Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUbaydullāh:
"Teach my son the Qur’an and I will give you a gift or wage."
Ismāʿīl (رحمه الله) replied:
"Umm al-Mu’minīn Umm al-Dardāʾ narrated to me from Abū al-Dardāʾ (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Whoever earns a wage for teaching the Qur’an, Allah will place a bridle of fire upon him on the Day of Judgment.”
(Al-Bayhaqī 6/126, Al-Jawhar al-Naqī, Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr)
This ḥadīth clearly prohibits receiving payment for teaching the Qur’an.
Sayyidunā ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"A Qur’an reciter was reciting and then began asking people for money. I recited Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:*
"Whoever recites the Qur’an and asks from Allah has done correctly. But soon there will be people who will recite the Qur’an and ask from others."
(Al-Tirmidhī 3096, Musnad Aḥmad 4/432, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 257)
This Hadith clearly shows the impermissibility of using the Qur’an as a means of worldly income.
Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Learn the Qur’an and ask Allah for Paradise in return, before a time comes when people will learn the Qur’an and seek the world through it."
(Musnad Aḥmad 3/38, Ibn Ḥibbān 577, Al-Ṣaḥīḥah 258)
Sayyidunā Jābir and Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī (رضي الله عنهما) narrated:
"Recite the Qur’an—this is good—but soon a people will come who will straighten the Qur’an as an arrow is straightened and will seek worldly compensation for it."
(Sunan Abū Dāwūd 830, Musnad Aḥmad 3/397, Ibn Ḥibbān 1876)
Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shibl (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Recite the Qur’an, but do not eat through it, do not accumulate wealth with it, and do not exaggerate regarding it."
(Musnad Aḥmad 3/428, Al-Ṭabarānī, Al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 4/73)
This narration explicitly forbids seeking compensation for Qur’an recitation.
Scholars have declared that taking payment for recitation of the Qur’an is harām, though there is some disagreement regarding teaching the Qur’an.
◄ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله) said:
"Taking payment for reciting the Qur’an is impermissible and harām."
(Al-Durr al-Mukhtār 5/35–39)
◄ Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) stated:
"Whoever takes money for reciting the Qur’an or supplicating is committing an impermissible act, for these are acts of worship, and one is not permitted to be paid for worship."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 28/111)
◄ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) wrote:
"Turning the Qur’an into a means of worldly gain contradicts its true purpose. Seeking compensation through it is a deviation."
(Zād al-Maʿād 1/69)
Receiving payment for reciting the Qur’an is harām, because:
➊ The Qur’an itself forbids it (Surah al-Baqarah 41).
➋ The Prophet ﷺ repeatedly warned against it.
➌ The noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) considered it impermissible.
➍ Leading scholars have issued rulings declaring it forbidden.
Turning the Qur’an into a source of worldly income is a grave sin.
The goal of learning and teaching the Qur’an should solely be the pleasure of Allah and success in the Hereafter, not worldly profit.
◈ Therefore, one must avoid this innovation and recite and learn the Qur’an purely for the sake of Allah.
"Wallāhu aʿlam bis-ṣawāb."
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Vol. 1, Pg. 69
❖ Question:
What is the evidence for the prohibition of taking payment for reciting the Qur’an?
❖ Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh. Ammā baʿd!
✿ Qur’an Recitation is an Act of Worship
The recitation of the Qur’an is an act of worship, and in Islamic law, it is prohibited and impermissible to receive compensation for acts of worship. There are multiple proofs from the Qur’an and Hadith on this matter, a few of which are presented below:
◉ Evidence from the Noble Qur’an
◄ Allah the Exalted says:
﴿وَلا تَشتَروا بِـٔايـٰتى ثَمَنًا قَليلًا ﴾
"And do not sell My verses for a small price."
(Surah al-Baqarah 41)
This verse is general in its ruling, forbidding any act where religion is exchanged for worldly gain.
◄ Imām Abū al-ʿĀliyah (رحمه الله) said:
"The meaning of this verse is that one must not take a wage for reciting or teaching the Qur’an."
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr 1/83)
◉ Evidences from the Noble Hadith
◈ Hadith ①
Abū Muḥammad al-Mukhladī (رحمه الله) narrates:
ʿAbdul Malik ibn Marwān said to Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUbaydullāh:
"Teach my son the Qur’an and I will give you a gift or wage."
Ismāʿīl (رحمه الله) replied:
"Umm al-Mu’minīn Umm al-Dardāʾ narrated to me from Abū al-Dardāʾ (رضي الله عنه) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"Whoever earns a wage for teaching the Qur’an, Allah will place a bridle of fire upon him on the Day of Judgment.”
(Al-Bayhaqī 6/126, Al-Jawhar al-Naqī, Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr)
This ḥadīth clearly prohibits receiving payment for teaching the Qur’an.
◈ Hadith ②
Sayyidunā ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"A Qur’an reciter was reciting and then began asking people for money. I recited Innā lillāhi wa innā ilayhi rājiʿūn and said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say:*
"Whoever recites the Qur’an and asks from Allah has done correctly. But soon there will be people who will recite the Qur’an and ask from others."
(Al-Tirmidhī 3096, Musnad Aḥmad 4/432, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 257)
This Hadith clearly shows the impermissibility of using the Qur’an as a means of worldly income.
◈ Hadith ③
Sayyidunā Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Learn the Qur’an and ask Allah for Paradise in return, before a time comes when people will learn the Qur’an and seek the world through it."
(Musnad Aḥmad 3/38, Ibn Ḥibbān 577, Al-Ṣaḥīḥah 258)
◈ Hadith ④
Sayyidunā Jābir and Sahl ibn Saʿd al-Sāʿidī (رضي الله عنهما) narrated:
"Recite the Qur’an—this is good—but soon a people will come who will straighten the Qur’an as an arrow is straightened and will seek worldly compensation for it."
(Sunan Abū Dāwūd 830, Musnad Aḥmad 3/397, Ibn Ḥibbān 1876)
◈ Hadith ⑤
Sayyidunā ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Shibl (رضي الله عنه) narrated:
"Recite the Qur’an, but do not eat through it, do not accumulate wealth with it, and do not exaggerate regarding it."
(Musnad Aḥmad 3/428, Al-Ṭabarānī, Al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ 4/73)
This narration explicitly forbids seeking compensation for Qur’an recitation.
◉ Consensus of the Scholars
Scholars have declared that taking payment for recitation of the Qur’an is harām, though there is some disagreement regarding teaching the Qur’an.
◄ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah (رحمه الله) said:
"Taking payment for reciting the Qur’an is impermissible and harām."
(Al-Durr al-Mukhtār 5/35–39)
◄ Imām Ibn Taymiyyah (رحمه الله) stated:
"Whoever takes money for reciting the Qur’an or supplicating is committing an impermissible act, for these are acts of worship, and one is not permitted to be paid for worship."
(Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 28/111)
◄ Imām Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) wrote:
"Turning the Qur’an into a means of worldly gain contradicts its true purpose. Seeking compensation through it is a deviation."
(Zād al-Maʿād 1/69)
❖ Summary
Receiving payment for reciting the Qur’an is harām, because:
➊ The Qur’an itself forbids it (Surah al-Baqarah 41).
➋ The Prophet ﷺ repeatedly warned against it.
➌ The noble Companions (رضي الله عنهم) considered it impermissible.
➍ Leading scholars have issued rulings declaring it forbidden.
Turning the Qur’an into a source of worldly income is a grave sin.
The goal of learning and teaching the Qur’an should solely be the pleasure of Allah and success in the Hereafter, not worldly profit.
◈ Therefore, one must avoid this innovation and recite and learn the Qur’an purely for the sake of Allah.
"Wallāhu aʿlam bis-ṣawāb."