I.M.A.M.’s Foreword
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Religious obligations related to personal finances comprise a special category of spiritual worship within Islam’s comprehensive system as a complete way of life for this world and the Hereafter. This is clearly reflected in the repeated Qur’anic command, “Establish prayer and give zakat”1, and when He says, “Indeed, successful is the one who purifies himself, remembers the Name of his Lord, and prays”2. Just as Islam nurtures the individual to draw closer to Allah through personal acts of worship, rituals, and devotional practices, it also cultivates social responsibility—awakening sensitivity to the suffering of the poor, needy, and deprived. This motivates believers to assist them with the wealth Allah has bestowed, offering it sometimes as a recommended act of devotion, such as charity (sadaqa), and at other times as an obligatory duty, such as zakat. Allah, the Exalted, says, “And in their wealth there is a rightful share for the one who asks and the one who is deprived”3.
Just as prayer is divided into obligatory and recommended forms with various types and categories, so too is the case for financial obligations. Among the most significant of these is khums. The Qur’an explicitly establishes it in the verse, “Know that whatever you may gain – then, indeed, a fifth of it is for Allah, for His Messenger, and for the Prophet’s relatives; orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have faith in Allah and what We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Separation, the day when the two armies met; and Allah, over all things, is competent”4. For this reason, the issue of khums holds great importance among believers because it is an obligatory duty legislated by Islamic law and established by the clear text of the Qur’an and the authentic Sunnah.
“Financial worship” highlights the importance of wealth in human life to ensure dignified living and simultaneously stand in solidarity with the underprivileged, rescuing them from humiliation and hardship, and contributing to the elimination of the destructive phenomenon of poverty. Moreover, wealth plays a vital role in strengthening and supporting religion by funding seminaries and other educational, scholarly, and religious institutions, and through all efforts that contribute to fulfilling humanity’s role as Allah’s vicegerent on earth, as He states, “Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend from that over which He has made you trustees. For those who believe among you and spend, there is a great reward”5.
Accordingly, believers find themselves in great need of understanding the philosophy behind the legislation of khums, the obligations it entails, the benefits it produces, and how to calculate and formulate it correctly, and manage and disburse it according to Islamic legal standards so that they may properly fulfill their duties toward Allah and those entitled to it. It is for this purpose that this book has been prepared—structured, detailed, and methodically organized—to facilitate the believers’ understanding of the subject, simplify the process of calculation and extraction, and clarify the proper means for its lawful distribution.
In preparing this work, we relied primarily on the authoritative religious sources of the rulings of His Eminence Grand Ayatullah Sayyid Ali al-Sistani (may Allah prolong his life), including Minhaj al-salihin, al-Masael al-Muntakhabah, The Code of Practice for Muslims in the West, and the official website of his office in Najaf al-Ashraf, www.sistani.org. We also consulted Risaleh Jami‘ (in Persian) issued by the Mashhad office in Iran. Additionally, we drew upon jurisprudential works reviewed and supervised by some of his distinguished students—such as His Eminence Ayatullah Sayyid Munir al-Khabbaz, Ayatullah Shaykh Ali al-Dahnin, and His Eminence Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad Taqi Shahidi—which have received his approval and endorsement, including al-Rafid fi Khums al-Arbah wa al-Fawa’id, as well as Tawdih al-khums issued by the Holy Shrine Administration of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas in Karbala, Iraq. After establishing a clear methodology and structure for the book, all topics were presented in a simplified, logical, and sequential manner, supported wherever possible by practical examples of commonly encountered scenarios—especially for those living in Western countries—to ensure relevance and effectiveness. Additional jurisprudential inquiries (istifta’at) were included to address potential gaps. The work was then reviewed by members of our scholarly team at I.M.A.M., translated into English, linguistically and stylistically edited, carefully revised, corrected, and finalized for publication in its present form. In the next phase, we hope to further develop this work into a digital program on the I.M.A.M.’s website, offering an automated khums calculation service to further facilitate matters for believers.
Perfection belongs to Allah alone. If any shortcoming, error, or oversight is found in this concise work, or if there are suggestions that might enhance and improve this effort, we sincerely ask the believing reader to kindly share them with us. For this, we extend our deepest thanks and appreciation.
Sayyid M. B. Kashmiri
Jurist Representative