Khums
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Khums (خمس) is the Arabic word for One Fifth (1/5). According to Shia Islamic legal terminology, it means "one-fifth of certain items which a person acquires as wealth, and which must be paid as an Islamic tax"[1]
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[edit] Note on Citations from the Quran and the arabic language
The Items eligible for khums are referred to as Ghanima →"الْغَنيمَة" in the Quran. The Arabic word Ghanima has two meanings
- "spoils of war" or "war booty"
- gain or profit
[edit] Interpretations of the verse regarding Ghanima
[edit] Taken in context
If read in context, "Khums" should only be paid on war booty. The ruling appears in The Qur'an 008:041. Chapter 8 of the Qur'an (Al-Anfal - "spoils of war, booty") begins with the following verse:
Verse 001:
YUSUFALI: They ask thee concerning (things taken as) spoils of war. Say: "(such) spoils are at the disposal of Allah and the Messenger: So fear Allah, and keep straight the relations between yourselves: Obey Allah and His Messenger, if ye do believe."
The chapter continues to enlighten the reader on how to address various types of situations in the battle-field (as well as lessons to be learnt).
[edit] Brief summary of Qur'an 008:001 to 008:041
Notes:
- For the actual script please see Quran - Chapter Al-Anfal
- The following is in the form: verse number(s): summary of verse(s).
- Occasionally the entire verse is given because a summary would be just as long.
- 001: As above.
- 002-004: Description of a person with true belief in Allah (One God).
- 005-008: Some of the believers were afraid of having to fight the enemy, although Allah prescribed it; justification given.
- 009-012: The believers asked Allah for help against the enemy and Allah's help was given in many ways.
- 013-014: The punishment for those who contend Allah and His Messenger is hellfire.
- 015-016: It is forbidden to run away from the enemy in battle unless it is part of a strategy or to retreat to a troop.
- 017-019: Allah is fighting for the believer and makes the unbelievers plans and strategy feeble, and Allah's help is best.
- 020-022: Stressed the obligation and importance of the believers to listen sincerely and obey Allah and His Messenger.
- Verse 023:
YUSUFALI: "If Allah had found in them any good. He would indeed have made them listen: (As it is), if He had made them listen, they would but have turned back and declined (Faith)."
- 024-030: Allah gave the believers countless favours; Fear Allah; Allah's help is better; Allah's reward is better.
- Verse 024: The believers should respond to the calls of Allah and His Messenger.
- Verse 025: The believers should fear tumult and oppression, which affects not only the unjust people, and know that Allah is strict in punishment.
- Verse 026: Allah gave the believers countless favours.
- Verse 027: YUSUFALI: "O ye that believe! betray not the trust of Allah and the Messenger, nor misappropriate knowingly things entrusted to you."
- Verse 028: YUSUFALI: "And know ye that your possessions and your progeny are but a trial; and that it is Allah with Whom lies your highest reward."
- Verse 029: YUSUFALI: "O ye who believe! if ye fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion (to judge between right and wrong), remove from you (all) evil (that may afflict) you, and forgive you: for Allah is the Lord of grace unbounded."
- Verse 030: YUSUFALI: "Remember how the Unbelievers plotted against thee, to keep thee in bonds, or slay thee, or get thee out (of thy home). They plot and plan, and Allah too plans; but the best of planners is Allah."
- 031-037: What the unbelievers would say and do, reasons why they are doomed.
- Verse 038:
YUSUFALI: "Say to the Unbelievers, if (now) they desist (from Unbelief), their past would be forgiven them; but if they persist, the punishment of those before them is already (a matter of warning for them)."
The definition of a true believer is given at the beginning. Many of the verses are giving the believers courage (as at the beginning some were afraid), including those verses explaining the favours of Allah on the believers and the reality of the unbelievers. At the same time some are warning the believers from committing evils. Every verse is relevant to the battle-field, and continues to be.
- Verse 039:
YUSUFALI: "And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah altogether and everywhere; but if they cease, verily Allah doth see all that they do."
- Verse 040:
YUSUFALI: "If they refuse, be sure that Allah is your Protector - the best to protect and the best to help."
(This is referring to what is said in verse 38.)
- Verse 041:
YUSUFALI: "And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things."
[edit] Taken in the literal sense
Some Muslims, typically those who refer to themselves as Shia, hold the view that since the word Ghanima is used, it therefore implies that the one-fifth tax of Khums also applies wherever gain or profit is involved. "Ghanima" has two meanings as mentioned above; the second meaning is illustrated by the common use of the Islamic banking term "al-ghunm bil-ghurm" meaning "gains accompany liability for loss or risk" Glossary of Islamic Banking Terms ...Challenges Facing Islamic Banking by Ibrahim F I Shihata
Also in a famous supplication, the supplication after the noon prayer, the person asks God to bestow on him His favors. One of those favors which the person asks is the benefit or gain from every act of righteousness; the word used here is "al-ghanima." →"وَالْغَنيمَةَ مِنْ كُلِّ بِر" The Keys to Paradise, chapter 1, section 2 title "special prayers" This is in accordance with the second meaning of the word.
[edit] Khums
[edit] The Shia view
The evidence for khums comes directly from the Quran and the prophetic tradition.
| The Quran 8:41 |
|---|
| And know ye (O believers) that whatever of a thing ye acquire (غَنِمْتُم/ghanimtum) a fifth of it is for God, and for the Apostle and for the (Apostle's) near relatives and the orphans and the needy and the way farer ......English translation by Mir Ahmed Ali |
as per the verse above, the Khums goes to six entities as follows.
- Allah
- Muhammad
- The near relative of Muhammad (Ahlul-Bayt)
- Orphans
- needy
- the person who has fallen away from his home-town (and has no money to come back to his own place).
The shia view is that "ghanimtum" the plural verb taken from the word الْغَنيمَة means wealth or profit (see the note on citation above)
Historically, the first 3 portions were paid to Muhammad, after he died, this was paid to his successors the 12 imams. Since we do not have access to the 12th imam, a religious scholar will receive the first three portions (which will be half of total Khums) who will spend it on behalf of Allah, Muhammad, and his relatives in the path of Allah (like spending it on the theological schools or any other things that they feel necessary in religious matters).[2]
[edit] Further evidence from the Hadith (al-bukhari)
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
The delegates of the tribe of 'Abdul-Qais came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! We are from the tribe of Rabi'a, and there is the infidels of the tribe of Mudar intervening between you and us, so we cannot come to you except in the Sacred Months. So please order us some instructions that we may apply it to ourselves and also invite our people whom we left behind us to observe as well." The Prophet said, "I order you (to do) four (things) and forbid you (to do) four: I order you to believe in Allah, that is, to testify that None has the right to be worshiped but Allah (the Prophet pointed with his hand); to offer prayers perfectly; to pay Zakat; to fast the month of Ramadan, and to pay the Khumus (i.e. one-fifth) of the ghanima → غَنِمْتُم (see the note on citation above)to Allah and I forbid you to use Ad-dubba', An-Naqir, Al-Hantam and Al-Muzaffat (i.e. utensils used for preparing alcoholic drinks)."[3][4][5]
[edit] The Sunni View
Sunnis that follow one of the four Sunni Schools of Law (Hanafi • Shafi`i • Maliki • Hanbali) for the most part consider Khums to be something that exists, and do not consider it as an innovation. Followers of a contemporary Islamic movement -- Salafism, the adherents of which claim to adhere to the path of the 'as-Salaf aṣ-Ṣāliḥ' (righteous predecessors) consider the payment of Khums to be an innovation -- a bid'ah.
The adherents of this movement (sometimes referred to as Salafis) consider it as such, because they find no evidence for its establishment in any of the four major Sunni sources of jurisprudence (Qur'an (the central religious text of Islam) • Sunnah (the observed ways of living and sayings of Muhammad) • Ijma' (consensus of the community of Muslims) • Qiyas (process of analogical reasoning from a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction)).
An example of Khums seen in the Shafi`i school of law is the "Zakat on Treasure Troves". The 1991 English Translation of Umdat al-Salik wa Uddat al-Nasik (Reliance of the Traveller and the Tools of the Worshipper) has this text as the translation in the section H6.2 (ZAKAT ON TREASURE TROVES):
"An immediate zakat of 20 percent is due when one finds a treasure trove that was buried in pre-Islamic times (N: or by non-Muslims, ancient or modern) if it amounts to the zakat minimum (def: h4.2) and the land is not owned. If such a treasure if found on owned land, it belongs to the owner of the land. If found in a mosque or street, or if it was buried in Islamic times, it is considered as a lost and found article (def: k27)."
As for the strict understanding, that Khums is only applicable on Ghanayam (property, movable and immovable,) surrendered by the enemy in any battle or as a result of actual warfare, this is the opinion of only some Sunnis. (For this point one can refer to the quote above, or potentially consult the meaning of ghanimat: tafsir al manar; tafsir qartabi (Volume 4, Page 2840); tafsir razi (Volume 15, Page 164).) The other opinion is illustrated by the addition of the comment "(in war)" by Abdullah Yusuf Ali in his translation of the meaning of the Holy Qur'an, for verse 41 of Surah al-Anfaal (8):
"And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah,- and to the Messenger, and to near relatives, orphans, the needy, and the wayfarer,- if ye do believe in Allah and in the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Day of Testing,- the Day of the meeting of the two forces. For Allah hath power over all things."
The significance of the brackets around the words "in war" is to show that they are an addition to the original text. This is done to highlight that this verse came down about the "Day of Testing" -- the day of the Battle of Badr. This for some Sunnis implies that Khums is only applicable on the spoils of war. With regard to "The Spoils of Battle" this topic is discussed under section O10.0, under the chapter of the same name. This understanding of Khums is mentioned in section O10.4, under the title of "Dividing the First Fifth Taken (Khums)".
