How Do I Pay Khums to a School or Islamic Center Locally?

Religious centers, schools, mosques, and religious institutions concerned with education and religious missionary work are eligible to receive support from the religious authority, including financial support from khums. Therefore, the religious authority welcomes requests for khums authorizations and grants explicit permission to receive and spend khums according to regulations and conditions for any community of believers, wherever they may be.

Consequently, you can visit the website of I.M.A.M. to view the list of centers authorized to receive and spend religious dues,⁸⁹ and when paying your religious obligations, you can designate one or more of these entities to receive a portion of your khums payment. Alternatively, you can go directly to the Islamic school, center, or mosque and verify that they have obtained an authorization by asking and reviewing a tangible document that confirms their authorization to receive khums. You may then pay it to them directly and subsequently request the official receipt issued by one of the offices of the religious authority. This is based on a fatwa⁹⁰ issued in this regard; otherwise, what was paid will not be considered valid khums from a religious perspective, and it will be mandatory to pay it once again.

If a school, center, or mosque does not possess an authorization, they can submit an application to acquire it.⁹¹

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89. See https://imam-us.org/khums-authorized-organizations-north-america ↩
90. See the fatwa on this matter https://imam-us.org/khums-needs-official-receipt ↩
91. Organizations interested in acquiring ijaza to collect and spend khums and submit an application – https://imam-us.org/khums-authorization-application ↩