Is it permissible to use a small amount of public funds for Da‘wah?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds.  I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

Public funds are protected by Sharee‘ah (Islamic law) just like private funds. It is even more prohibited to take from public funds than private ones as they are concerned with the rights of more people and many people are responsible for it. That is why the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, warned us about taking the spoils of war before it is divided. It was narrated that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, delivered a speech and mentioned this issue pointing out that the person who takes anything from the spoils of war before it is divided, would come on the Day of Judgment carrying what he has taken on his neck. At that point, he would seek the help of the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to rescue him from the punishment, but the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would tell him that it is too late as he had already warned him in the worldly life. This would be the time for reckoning when it is no longer possible to perform deeds or repent. [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

It was narrated in Musnad Ahmad and others that the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pointed out that those who take anything from the spoils of war before it is divided, would be disgraced and punished on the Day of Judgment. It was also narrated in Saheeh Al-Bukhari that there was a man whose name was Karkarah used to guard the Prophet's belongings, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. After the man’s death, the Prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told his Companions that the man is in Hell, so they went to his home and discovered that he had taken a garment from the spoils of war before it was divided.

These are some texts that clearly prove that public funds are prohibited as they are the property of all Muslims to help them meet their religious and worldly needs. Among the Muslims having the most important needs, are those who enjoin  what is right, forbid what is wrong and teach Muslims the issues concerning their religion. There is abundant money in the Muslims’ treasury to pay all this, as it is very important. In fact, there are many benefits from fulfilling the needs of such people and if this is neglected it could lead to many bad consequences. Consequently, it is the duty of those who are responsible for the Muslims’ treasury to allocate great amounts of money for Da‘wah, (calling to Islam) enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.

However, if those responsible for the treasury do not give that money and there are no other means for the callers to Islam to fund their activities, it would be permissible for them to take a sufficient amount of money from these public funds through lawful means. By lawful means we mean that they may take the money by being appointed for a job approved by the authority that supervises public funds. However, taking the money by any other means may lead to bad consequences for Da‘wah and callers to Islam in general.

Allaah Knows best.