Khums — Who Do We Pay It To During Ghaybah?

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ٱللَّٰهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَىٰ مُحَمَّدٍ وَآلِ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَجِّلْ فَرَجَهُمْ وَٱلْعَنْ أَعْدَاءَهُمْ

Image: Jason Leung on Unsplash

    Khums, an Arabic term that translates to 'one fifth,' encapsulates a fundamental obligation upon individuals to allocate 20% of their accumulated wealth from designated sources towards the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt. This financial commitment, deeply rooted in Islamic teachings, underscores the principle of economic justice and communal responsibility. Khums is what belongs to the Imams, within its simplicity, khums is the Imams' wealth that we have in our possession; in other words, 20% of our wealth is not our wealth, but the wealth of the Imams. We read in Tadhib al-Ahkam:

 وبهذا الاسناد عن حريز عن أبي عبد الله عليه السلام قال: سمعته يقول: رفع إلى أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام رجل مؤمن اشترى أرضا من أراضي الخراج فقال أمير المؤمنين عليه السلام: له ما لنا وعليه ما علينا مسلما كان أو كافرا له ما لأهل الله وعليه ما عليهم.

 With this chain of narration from Hariz from Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) who said: I heard him (Imam) saying, "A believer came to the Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) and purchased a piece of land from the lands subject to religious tax (khums). The Commander of the Faithful (peace be upon him) said, 'He has what is ours, and upon him is what is upon us, whether he is a Muslim or a non-Muslim. He has what belongs to the people of God, and upon him is what is upon them.'"

    Furthermore, in Wasa’il-ush-Shi’ah of Al-Hurr Al-Amili, Volume 9 Page 270 Hadith 7, we learn to whom the Khums belongs:

Abdullah Al-Alawi reported that Imam As-Sadiq (a.) said: ,,When God, except for whom there is no one worthy of worship, forbade us to consume the donation (sadaqah), He established the fifth part (khums) for us as a replacement. Therefore, we are forbidden to consume the donation (sadaqah) and the fifth part (khums) to us is obligatory. As for the generosity towards us, it is allowed.”

 

Khums Whilst The Imam Is In Ghaybah

    Now that the Imam is within Ghaybah, the major occultation, we've no solid way to reach him and give him our Khums. So now a problem arises, who do we give these Khums to? The deviant Usulis opt to pay Khums to their Muraja' so that they may fund Islamic Seminaries and other religious institutions, or give money to the Poor Sayeds (descendants of the Prophet) as Zakat is haram upon Bani Hashim. However, there is not a single proof that shows that we give our Khums to the Scholars or other Hashemites. We read in the Ahadith:

وأما الخمس (٢) فقد أبيح لشيعتنا وجعلوا منه في حل إلى وقت ظهور أمرنا لتطيب ولادتهم

Muhammad bin Uthman al ‘Amri narrates from Imam Mahdi up until it states: “As for the Khums it has been made permissible (Ubeeh) for our Shia and it has been made halal for them until the time of our appearance to purify their birth."

[Al Ghayba by Tusi Volume 1 Page 315]

حدثنا محمد بن محمد بن عصام الكليني رضي الله عنه قال: حدثنا محمد بن يعقوب الكليني، عن إسحاق بن يعقوب عن محمد بن عثمان العمري رضي الله عنه أن مولانا صاحب الزمان عليه السلام قال: وأما الخمس فقد أبيح لشيعتنا وجعلوا منه في حل إلى وقت ظهور أمرنا لتطيب ولادتهم ولا تخبث

Muhammad Ibn Uthman Al-Amri reported that Imam Al-Mahdi (a.) said: ,,As for the fifth part of the fee (khums), it is permitted (mubah) to our followers and they have been relieved of it until the time of the appearance of our matter, so that their origin may be pure and not illegitimate.”

[Kamal-ud-Din of As-Saduq, page 439 – 440 Hadith 4] 

 

In a lengthy letter from Imam Al-Mahdi:

,,As for those who dress themselves through our wealth, he who deemed some of it permissible, after which he consumed it, is only consuming the fire, and as for the fifth khums (8:41), it is permissible to our followers and they have been released from it until the time of the appearance of our cause (39: 69), so that their descent may be pure and not impure, and as for the repentance of people who doubted the religion of God by what they offered to us, we have exempted the one who asked for exemption and do not depend on the offering of the doubters."

[Kamal-ud-Din, page 439 – 441, hadith 4]

    What do these Ahadith mean? Basically, Khums has been made Halal upon the Shi'ah, therefore they no longer need to pay it. Khums belongs to the Imams, it's the Imams' property and wealth, but since it has been made halal, we're allowed to use it as if it was apart of our wealth. What this also means is that every Scholar who demands Khums is claiming the rank of an Imam, as only to the Imams belongs Khums; furthermore, they are robbing the Shi'ah of their money. 

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِنَانٍ عَنْ أَبي سلامٍ عَنْ سَوْرَةَ بْنِ كُلَيْبٍ عَنْ ابي جعفر (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ قُلْتُ لَهُ قَوْلُ الله عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيامَةِ تَرَى الَّذِينَ كذَبُوا عَلَى الله وُجُوهُهُمْ مُسْوَدَّةٌ قَالَ مَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي إِمَامٌ وَلَيْسَ بِإِمَامٍ قَالَ قُلْتُ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَوِيّاً قَالَ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَوِيّاً قُلْتُ وَإِنْ كَانَ مِنْ وُلْدِ عَلِي ابْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ وَإِنْ كَانَ.

Sawrah b. Kulayb asked Abu Ja’far, peace be upon him, regarding the words of Allah: ,,And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied about Allah with their faces blackened. He said: “[This verse refers to] whoever says: ,,I am an Imam”, when in fact he is not an Imam.” I said: ,,Even if he is an ‘alawi?” He said: ,,Even if he is an ‘alawi.” I said: ,,Even if he is from the children of ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, peace be upon him?” He said: ,,Even then.”

[Kulayni: al-Kafi, vol. 1, pg. 372]

مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَحْيَى عَنْ عَبْدِ الله بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عِيسَى عَنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحَكَمِ عَنْ أَبَانٍ عَنِ الْفُضيْل عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيْهِ السَّلام) قَالَ مَنِ ادَّعَى الامَامَةَ وَلَيْسَ مِنْ أَهْلِهَا فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ.

 It is narrated that Abu ‘Abdillah, peace be upon him, said: ,,Whoever claims Imamah when in fact he is not from its people, [such person] is a disbeliever.”

[Kulaynī: al-Kafi, vol. 1, pg. 372.]

    In conclusion, we need to stop giving these false Imams our money and start disassociating from them as they are disbelievers.