The Importance of Khums

Surplus

Calculated on your khums due date.

Equivalent amount, in Australian Dollars, of foreign currency you own ?

Calculated on your khums due date.

Debts owed to you that you expect to be repaid ?

Do not include this if it was accounted for in previous financial years.

In-kind possessions not used for sustenance ?

This includes buildings, farms, factories, commodities, work tools, and any household items or possessions not used for sustenance. Calculate these at present value if they were acquired with surplus income on which a year has not elapsed, and at cost price if they were acquired with surplus income on which a year has elapsed. If acquired with a combination of income, then calculate these at present value in relation to what was acquired with surplus income on which a year has not elapsed, and at cost price in relation to what was acquired with surplus income on which a year has elapsed.

Financial dues ?

This includes the due of key premium (surqufliah), the due of utilizing agricultural lands owned by the state, and the due of revival of lands which are fenced and prepared for residency. Calculate these at present value if they were acquired with surplus income on which a year has not elapsed, and at cost price if they were acquired with surplus income on which a year has elapsed. If acquired with a combination of income, then calculate these at present value in relation to what was acquired with surplus income on which a year has not elapsed, and at cost price in relation to what was acquired with surplus income on which a year has elapsed.

Amount you utilized prior to your khums due date ?

This is cash which was subject to khums prior to your khums due date, and which you have already spent (e.g. If this is the first year you pay khums, despite having needed to pay khums in previous years)

Fungible items you utilized prior to your khums due date ?

These are fungible items which were subject to khums prior to your khums due date, and which you have already utilized. Calculate these according to present value. Fungible items are those which are freely exchangeable or replaceable, in whole or in part, for another item of a similar nature, such as machinery or factory-produced fabrics.

Non-fungible items you utilized prior to your khums due date ?

These are non-fungible items which were subject to khums prior to your khums due date, and which you have already utilized. Calculate these according to their value at point of utilization. Non–fungible items are unique items, such as unique paintings, monuments, and unique jewelry.

Amount you already paid with intention of Sahm Al-Imam ?

Amount you paid with the intention of Sahm Al-Imam before your khums due date.

Amount you already paid with intention of Sahm Al-Sada ?

Amount you paid with the intention of Sahm Al-Sada before your khums due date.

Deductions

Commercial debts ?

Include all commercial debts you still owe others.

Remaining sustenance debts taken in the financial year ?

Includes debts borrowed in the financial year for accommodation (mortgage), a car, etc. Please refer to more detailed rulings for accounting for mortgages.

Remaining sustenance debts taken in previous financial years ?

Includes debts borrowed in the previous financial year for accommodation (mortgage), a car, etc. The asset (house, car, etc.) must still be in your possession. Calculate only the amount that you have not deducted from your profits in previous financial years. Please refer to more detailed rulings for accounting for mortgages.

Amount you own which has already been subjected to khums ?

Calculated on your khums due date. Includes the remainder of funds that were subject to khums in previous years and on which you have already paid khums.

Notes

1) Your khums due date is the first day you started your job or business. If you are retired or not in employment, then you can agree a khums due date with a representative of the marja’a, or calculate separate khums years for each profit that you make, from the date you made that profit.
2) The khums of commercial commodities and real estate(s) which are intended for trading, should be paid in accordance with their current market value, even if they were bought with profits which a year has elapsed on, unless the price at which they were bought is higher than the current value.
3) If the calculations show that the amount of khums due is negative as a result of sustenance debts, then the amount of the sustenance debt equivalent to the amount of khums due for the rest of the item is calculated and excluded.
4) If sustenance debts are fully repaid in the financial year, this amount is excluded from the profits.
5) Possessions which are not subject to khums are:
1. a. Possessions owned through inheritance:
2. i. Cash
3. ii. Real Estate
4. iii. Objects that are transferrable and the like
5. b. Possessions owned by the wife from the dowry (mahr):
6. i. Cash
7. ii. Gold Jewellery
8. iii. Home furniture and the like
9. c. Possessions used for personal or family provisions from the profits of that financial year:
10. i. Home residence
11. ii. Home furniture and other household items
12. iii. Gardens used for leisure and to personally benefit from their fruit
13. iv. Personal or family cars
14. v. Animals that are benefited from by the household such as a cow for milk or a chicken for eggs
15. d. Debts owed by others that you do not expect to be repaid.
16. e. Items purchased through debt that has not yet been repaid.

Total amount subject to Khums 0$

Khums Due 0$

Sahm al Imam to be paid 0$

Sahm al Sada to be paid 0$

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The Importance of Khums

13 January 2023

Islam presents humanity with a complete package. It deals with our relationship with other creations of God, as well as our own relationship with God. However, the financial responsibilities that Islam teaches us touches on both. From one perspective, it is a form of worship and a means to get closer to God. From another, it is an act of sharing the wealth that God has given us for causes permitted by the Sharia.

One of the major financial obligations, as commanded by the Qur’ān[1] and explained by the Ahl al-Bayt [a], is khums – the one-fifth levy. It is different to zakāt al-māl, as the latter pertains only to particular forms of wealth above certain thresholds.

In general terms, khums is the financial obligation that requires Muslims to pay a fifth of their savings from the income of the year that has just ended. The payment is divided into two equal parts: the portion for the Imam [a] (Sahm al-Imām [a]) and the portion for the Hashimites who are poor and require financial assistance (Sahm al-Sādah).

Through this payment, the wealth that remains becomes purified and lawful for one to use, as well as a fulfilment of a duty. Beyond the duty and the purification of wealth, it is a test of faith. It has been reported from Imam Mūsā al-Kāẓim [a] that he said that none shall be able to undertake this obligation except those “whose hearts have been tested for faith.”[2] Imam ʿAlī al-Riḍā [a] has been narrated to have said that the payment of khums is “the key to your sustenance, and the purification from your sins.”[3]

As per the edicts of His Eminence, al-Sayyid al-Sīstānī, the Sahm al-Sādah can be distributed amongst the deserving Hashimites by the believers themselves. However, Sahm al-Imām [a] must be passed to those who represent the Awaited Imam [a] during his occultation. For those who follow His Eminence, al-Sayyid al-Sīstānī, this is to be passed to him as one’s Marjiʿ, as an obligatory precaution, or anybody who has been given permission by him to use it in the permitted causes.

From one side, the obligation of khums is an Islamic tax that honours the Ahl al-Bayt [a] and the offspring of the Hashimite clan, for whom Zakāt – mandatory charity – has been made forbidden. In this manner, the Sayyids and Hashimites who find themselves in difficult times can receive a God-given right.

From another side, it is the means by which Islamic institutions and organisations, mosques and centres of learning can be completely free and independent from political, social and economical pressures. Through Sahm al-Imām [a], all those who are in need, but have not received the mandatory and non-mandatory charity given by the believers, can have food and basic amenities, pay their bills, and pay for medication and treatment. Through Sahm al-Imām [a], and through the blessings that come from this, the Muslim community that looks to the Ahl al-Bayt [a] and to the Imam of the Time [a] can be uplifted and carry itself through the thick and thin of this world.

There are many causes that can be supported and helped through the payment of the dues of khums. However, when we refer to the Holy Qurʾān, there is one group of people that is mentioned throughout as a special category of those who need our help, and we are the conduits through which God wishes to help them. They are the poor and the orphans.

Through organisations such as Al-Ayn, who have the permission of His Eminence, al-Sayyid al-Sīstānī, to receive khums funds to support the orphaned children of Iraq, there is a great opportunity to truly doing what God has obligated upon us in the best of ways.

We pray to Allah Almighty to accept from us our good deeds that we undertake to gain greater proximity to Him, and that it has the desired effect in this world and in the Hereafter.

Sheikh Ali Abbas Malik

[1] The Holy Qurʿān, 8:41.
[2] Al-wasāʾil, v. 9, pp. 484-5.
[3] Al-wasāʾil, v. 9, p. 538.