Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

What is khums? It is heard that khums is to be given to the Ahle Bayt. Where do we find the authentic Alhe Bayt in todays world?

On what amount is khums to be calculated? Is it compulsory to give khums (vis-a-vis Zakat). If compulsory, is there any quran ayat to advocate it?

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Answer:

What is khums

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: What is khums?

Khums literally means 1/5^th in Arabic, which is equal to 20%.

In the days of ignorance before Islam when one people used to fight another in a battle, the victorious soldiers would take whatever they could lay their hands upon for themselves from the ‘booty’ left over from the vanquished army.

But when the muslims went into battle with a disbelieving army for the sake and Cause of Allah Subhanah, Islam guided them that no muslim soldier could just simply collect the valuables left over from the vanquished army and keep it for himself…..but everything must be brought to their ‘Ameer’ or Commander of the Muslim Army (the Prophet (saws)) and deposited into the ‘bayt-ul-maal’ or Central Treasury of the Islamic State.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 8 Surah Anfaal verse 1:

1 They ask thee concerning (things taken as) ‘spoils of war’. Say: "(Such) spoils are at the disposal of Allah and His Messenger (saws): so fear Allah and keep straight the relations between yourselves: obey Allah and His Messenger (saws) if ye do believe."

Then Allah Subhanah revealed the Verse and Commanded the believers that of those ‘war-booty’ 4/5^th or 80% would be distributed by the Islamic State to the soldiers who participated in the Holy War; and a ‘khums’ or 1/5^th or 20% of that would be exclusively at the disposal of Allah and His Messenger (saws), which the Messenger of Allah (saws) would distribute amongst his relatives, orphans, and indigent as he (saws) willed and pleased.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 8 Surah Anfaal verse 41:

And know whatever spoils of war you have got, the ‘khums’ (a fifth) of these is for Allah and His Messenger, and for the relatives and the orphans, and the needy and the wayfarers.

Your Question: On what amount is khums to be calculated?

Dear and beloved brother in Islam, the ‘khums’ is neither calculated, nor determined, nor collected by the Islamic State from a muslim’s personal wealth or earnings….but rather only from the ‘war-booty’ the victorious Muslim Army collected when fighting the battles with the disbelievers in the Cause of Allah Subhanah.

Your Question: Is it compulsory to give khums (vis-a-vis Zakat).

Unlike one’s annual obligatory ‘zakah’ dues which every muslim has to determine and fulfill from one’s personal excess wealth….the ‘khums’ by no means whatsoever is to be taken from or given by any muslim from his personal assets or wealth whatsoever!

It is only an Islamic State who collect ‘war-booty’ if and when they fight a war in the Cause of Allah Subhanah, and if Allah blesses them with victory and thus with ‘war-booty’, it is the State who will distribute the ‘collected war-booty’ as guided by Allah Subhanah.

No individual muslim has to pay any ‘khums’ whatsoever to anyone in Islam!

I believe there are some unscrupulous sects who demand that ‘khums’ be paid to them by their unsuspecting followers; Allah is our witness brothers, these sects and their unscrupulous leaders are collecting these funds from their ignorant followers without absolutely any right whatsoever; and in their greed making a mockery of the guidance of Allah and His Messenger (saws)!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 9 Surah Taubah verses 34-35 :

O you who believe! There are indeed many among the priests and the holy men who devour the wealth of others by evil means, and debar the people from the Way of Allah. Give them the good news of a painful torment, who hoard up gold and silver and do not expend these in the Way of Allah. The Day shall surely come when the same gold and silver shall be heated in the fire of Hell, and with it will be branded their foreheads, their bodies and their backs. (And it will be said): “Here is that treasure you had hoarded up for yourselves! Taste now the evil of your hoarded treasure!”

Simply ask the people who claim that ‘khums’ is payable by a muslim to provide even an iota of evidence from the Quran and the Sunnah; or even one incident where the Messenger of Allah (saws) collected ‘khums’ from the believers!

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan