the public treasury (Bayt al-Mal). Thus, it is permissible to take a wage for it, like the construction of mosques and bridges. Furthermore, there is a necessity for this, as it is needed to appoint a proxy (istinabah) for the Hajj on behalf of one for whom the Hajj is obligatory but who is unable to perform it himself, and one rarely finds a volunteer for that; thus, there is a need to provide a wage for it. The basis for the first position [of those who forbid it] is what was narrated by Uthman ibn Abi al-As, who said: "The last thing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) entrusted to me was: 'Appoint a mu'adhdhin (caller to prayer) who does not take a wage for his adhan.'" Al-Tirmidhi (55) said: "This is a hasan (good) hadith." Ubada ibn al-Samit narrated that he said: "I taught some of the people of the Suffah the Quran and writing, so one of them gifted me a bow. I said: 'A bow, and it is not wealth; I will carry it (as a weapon) in the path of Allah.' I then mentioned this to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)" and he recounted the story to him. He said: "If it pleases you that Allah should bind you with a bow of fire, then accept it" (56). From Ubayy ibn Ka'b: that he taught a man a surah of the Quran, and he gifted him a khamisah (57) or a garment, so he mentioned that to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), who said: "If you had worn it, or taken it, Allah would have clothed you in its place with a garment of fire" (58). Ubayy said: "I used to attend to an elderly man who had been afflicted by an illness and was confined to his house, and I would recite the Quran to him. When I finished what I was reciting to him, he would say to his slave girl: 'Bring my brother's food.' Food would then be brought that I had never eaten the likes of in Medina, so something felt uneasy in my soul about it."