Money raised for dawah purposes: is it permissible for the one who is doing dawah to use this m

Assalamu alaykum

In the name of Allah the Inspirer of truth.

It is superior and most virtuous to be independent and have one's own source of income. This way one is not dependent on others. The Messenger of Allah (upon him be peace said), "For one of you to gather firewood on his back (for income) is better than asking others, who may give him or turn him down" (Bukhari and Muslim).

Having said this, it is permissible to utilize the money collected for dawa upon oneself, if it is clearly understood by the contributors that their money (or a percentage of it) would be used for the person working in the field. If this is not clear and the contributors are under the impression that it will only be used for purchasing books, pamphlets, other literature, hosting programs, and setting up websites, etc, and not as a salary for the person then it would not be permissible to utilize anything thereof for one's self.

Hence, we encourage that you should have a side job to lean on while fulfilling the honorable task of dawa. May Allah grant you baraka.

And Allah knows best.

Wassalam Abdurrahman