What’s the Difference between Khums and Zakat?

Linguistically, zakat means purification and increase. It refers to a moral increase, as Allah states “to see which of the food is purest”⁶, and similarly in the verse “Indeed, he succeeds who purifies it”⁷, which refers to the purification and cleansing of the self from associating with God (shirk) and sins. This concept is also found in the noble hadith, which report that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh&hp) said, “The zakat of knowledge is teaching it to those who do not know,”⁸ and that Imam Ali (p) stated, “Knowledge grows through spending it,”⁹ meaning it increases and grows.

Additionally, it also has a material increase, as in the verse related to the payment of zakat on the day of Eid before the prayer, “Indeed, he alone who has purified (himself) shall succeed”¹⁰.

Zakat, in Islamic jurisprudential terminology, is defined as a due that becomes obligatory on a specific amount of wealth, intended to bring one closer to Allah and seek His reward through its fulfillment. It purifies the wealth by fulfilling the rights of the poor and cleanses the owner of the wealth from sin¹¹.

It is evident that Islamic financial obligations are divided into two categories: obligatory and recommended. The obligatory ones include zakat on the two kinds of currencies¹², the zakat on the three kinds of livestock¹³, the zakat on the four kinds of produce¹⁴, the zakat al-Fitra, and khums, etc.

The recommended ones are like the rest of the charitable givings (sadaqat).

Therefore, khums is one of the financial acts of worship that branches from the broader obligation of zakat. It is reported from the Holy Prophet (pbuh&hp) that he said, “…and from the spoils of war, you give the zakat as the khums for Allah, a share for the Prophet, and his family, and what Allah has prescribed for the believers from charity…”¹⁵ Based on the common practice of describing a specific condition after stating its general rule, one can understand that khums is a separate branch and derivative of zakat, not a contradictory principle to it.

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6. The Holy Qur’an, 18:19 ↩
7. The Holy Qur’an 91:9 ↩
8. al-Majlisi, “Bihar al-Anwar”: v. 2, p. 25. ↩
9. al-Majlisi, “Bihar al-Anwar”: v. 23, p. 45. ↩
10. The Holy Qur’an 87:14 ↩
11. al-Hilli, “Al-Mu’tabar”: v. 2, p. 485. ↩
12. This refers to gold and silver coins, which were the common currency in transactions from ancient times until the last century.” ↩
13. This refers to camels, cows, sheep. ↩
14. This refers to wheat, barley, dates, and grapes. ↩
15. al-Bukhari, “Sahih al-Bukhari”: v. 5, Chapter of zakat. Cited from: al-Askari Murtada, “Ma’alim al-Madrasatain”, Chapter of zakat. [al-Safii is what is designated for the Prophet from the spoils of war, excluding anything else.] ↩