Shaykh Ṣāliḥ Aal-Shaykh:

The first and the greatest matter that the dāʿī should pay attention to is sincerity – making his efforts solely for the sake of Allāh ﷻ. He should take caution in receiving wages for his daʿwah and be cautious of speaking or participating for a (the sake of a) fee. For if any of these were to overcome him or (if they overcome him) due to a need, then he should revise himself, so that he speaks that which is correct. Daʿwah is different from teaching the Qur’ān. Daʿwah has rules and regulations; it has a different ruling to teaching.

So, due to that, the scholars have permitted the dāʿī to take means of support, and not a salary. He takes an incentive from bait al-māl, which is decided by the person in authority – an incentive which is not conditional to his efforts in this collective duty. This is because Allāh, the Most High, has said;

۞ وَلْتَكُن مِّنكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الْخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ ۚ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good, enjoining al-maʿrūf (monotheism and everything Islam preaches) and forbidding al-munkar (polytheism and disbelief).” (Q 3:104)

Allah ﷻ has ordered that there be from amongst us a sufficient group calling to good. So, if he takes a means of support, which aids him in establishing that – and this is not a salary which is bound by hours, days, nor is it something which he has specifically stated – then there is nothing wrong with it.