A New Mutawalli Harassing the Imam

Question

The new mutawalli (trustee of the waqf), asserting his superiority over the appointed imam of the mosque, is causing him distress and wronging him. The new mutawalli says that the imam is a servant and we are officers over him, and he must obey us. The imam, being compelled, after the Friday prayer described the distress the mutawalli had caused him. The mutawalli became angry with the imam: “Who gave you permission? Why did you speak about non-religious matters without permission?

Answer

The station of the imam is very lofty. For the mutawalli to regard the imam as his servant and to treat him in a demeaning manner is wrong and impermissible. Yet the imam, too, ought not to have described the mutawalli’s excesses in this way before the gathering after the Friday prayer.

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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