Examining the Qur ānic and Narrative Evidences for the Rule of " Prohibition of Taking Wages for Ritual Obligations"

Jurisprudence has been originated from the Qur‘ān and ḥadīth and the narrational or ma’thūr jurisprudence has been the first jurisprudential style after the rise of Islam, to such an extent that in the latter periods the expansion of this jurisprudence was intermingled with rational inferences and some issues that enjoyed more widespread aspects were accepted as rules. The rule of prohibition of taking wages for ritual obligations (wājibāt) has been considered as a challenging and controversial rule. This rule in early period of jurisprudence has its roots in some specific-case traditions on judgment, adhān (call to prayer), and instruction of the Qur’an; and in the books of the earlier scholars there is simply a legal judgment (fatwa) on the prohibition of taking wages for preparation of a dead body [for burying]. Differences concerning this issue in the latter periods have been mainly based on and arisen from rational aspects and analyses; and so far the scholars of this field have widely dealt with the rational principles of the rule. However, it has been seriously lacking in addressing the Qur’ānic and narrational aspects of this issue. In this writing, the stipulated and authorized (manṣūṣ) principles of the rule have been gathered from various narrational and exegetical books and put to criticism.