Al-Baqarah 2:41

(3) Verse 41 asks the Israelites not to be the first to deny the Holy Qur'an, although being a disbeliever is in itself the ultimate sin, whether one be the first or the last. The verse, in fact, suggests that the man who is the first to deny and disbelieve will not only incur the sin of his own denial but also bear the additional burden of the sin of misleading all those who follow his example; and will thus have to undergo a multiple punishment.

It follows from here that the man who is in any way responsible for others falling into any kind of sin will have to bear the burden of this sin along with the sinners; similarly, the man who in some way helps others to do a good deed will receive a reward for it along with them. Several verses of the Holy Qur'an and the ahadith of the Holy Prophet ﷺ repeatedly stress this point.

(4) Verse 41 warns the Israelites against taking a paltry price for His signs or verses (the Arabic word, Ayat آیت has both the meanings). The context makes it clear that it is forbidden to take money from people by misinterpreting or concealing the verses of the Book of Allah in order to please them or to serve their worldly interests. There is an absolute consensus of the Ummah on this point.

(5) As for the question of taking a wage for teaching the verses of the Holy Qur'an or for reporting them correctly, verse 41 is not concerned with the matter. But it is an important question in itself whether it is permissible to accept wages for teaching the Holy Qur'an. There is a divergence of views among the Fuqaha ' (jurists) in this matter. Imam Malik, Imam al-Shafi` i and Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal رحمہم اللہ ، consider such wages to be permissible, while the great Imam Abu Hanifah (رح) and some other jurists hold them to be impermissible, for the Holy Prophet ﷺ at has forbidden the use of the Holy Qur'an as a means of livelihood. But there has been a radical change in the circumstances since then. Formerly, those who taught the Holy Qur'an used to receive a subsistence allowance from the Baytul-Mal بیت المال ، or the public exchequer of the Islamic state. But since Islamic society fell into a disorder, 20 they lost their financial support. The teaching of the Holy Qur'an to children being a full-time job, the teachers could not turn to difficult professions without interrupting this essential chain of transmitting the Word of Allah from generation to generation. In view of this situation, the jurists of the Hanafi school declared it permissible to accept wages for teaching the Holy Qur'an. According to Hidayah, the famous book of Hanafi code, this should be the rule (fatwa) these days. Later jurists have extended the permission to similar duties like leading Salah (Imamah), calling for prayers (Adhan اذان ), teaching the Hadith and the Fiqh, etc., for they are related to the teaching of the Holy Qur'an, and the survival of Islam equally depends on them. (See al-Durr al-Mukhtar, al-Shami)

20. Through the onslaught of Western imperialism and other factors.

(6) The famous Hanafi scholar Shami has, in his commentary on "al-Durr al- Mukhar” and in his own book "Shifal-` Alil", explained in great detail and with convincing arguments that the later jurists have allowed the acceptance of wages for the teaching of the Holy Qur'an etc. Only in view of an essential religious need which must be fulfilled, or the whole Islamic order would be disturbed; hence the permission should be limited only to such essential needs. It logically follows from this principle that paying or receiving wages for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an for transmitting the reward to the dead or in the interest of some worldly purpose is forbidden, for it fulfils no essential religious need. Thus, the man who recites the Holy Qur'an for wages in this manner and the man who pays him for it both commit a sin. When there is no merit earned in such a recitation, how can it be transferred to the dead? Al-Shami refers to many authoritative works like "Taj al-Shari` ah", 'Ayni's commentary on Hidayah, the marginal notes by Khayr al-Din Al-Ramali on "al-Bahr al-Ra'iq", etc., and specially cites Al-Ramali to the effect that practices like paying for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an beside the grave of a dead man or elsewhere in order to transmit the reward to him, have never been reported from the blessed Companions or their immediate successors or from other great scholars of the early centuries of Islam, and are hence an innovation (Bid'ah) in religion.