Notes
of Lectures on Khums Fiqh by Maulana Sadiq
Hasan in Melbourne
One
of the most important conditions for a thing
to become mubah (lawful) is that the khums
for that thing (if wajib) must have been
paid Ignoring
the condition of mubah for salat is the same
as taking salat lightly or insignificant (istekhfaf)
and amounts to a great sin.
If
khums was wajib on the clothes you are
wearing and has not been paid, and if the
salat has been offered in such clothes, then
the salat is batil (invalid) even if you did
not know this rule. In such a case, you must
repeat that salat with mubah clothes on. The
same rule applies for the place or house where the
salat is offered, and the water used for
wudu or ghusl, and soil used for tayammum.
If
khums was wajib on other items (such as
food, car, gifts etc), which are not used by
the person during his/her salat, and the
khums has not been paid on these items, then
the salat is not batil, but the salat will
not be accepted until the wajib khums on
these items has been paid.
Hence,
it is first necessary to understand the laws
of khums and halal earnings before
understanding the detailed masail of salat.
Khums
means one fifth. Khums is divided into two
equal parts: Sehme Imam and Sehme Sadat.
Sehme
Imam is to be given to your marja (or his
legal representative). Some Mujtahids (likeAyatullah
Seestani and Khui) allow Sehme Sadat to be
given directly to poor and deserving sadat.
Other
Mujtahids (like Ayatullah Khumaini and
Khamenei) say that both Sehme Imam as well
as Sehme Sadat must be given to your marja.
If
your marja allows you to give Sehme Sadat
directly to poor sadat, it is better to give
it to your marja, and then you are not
responsible about the conditions to be met
by the receiving sadat.
While
it is important to calculate your khums
accurately, it is equally important that you
must send your khums to the right person as
specified by sharia. If your khums does not
reach the right person,it is as if you have
not paid the khums.
CONDITIONS
FOR PERSONS RECEIVING SEHME SADAT
RULES
FOR GIVING SEHME IMAM
ITEMS
ON WHICH KHUMS BECOMES WAJIB
WHAT
IF YOU HAVE NOT PAID KHUMS BEFORE
ITEMS
EXEMPTED FROM KHUMS
WHEN
TO PAY KHUMS
KHUMS
AND INSURANCE /LOAN/PROVIDENT FUND /FIXED
DEPOSIT ETC
Lecture
# 10 (Friday 14 September 2001
CONDITIONS
FOR PERSONS RECEIVING SEHME SADAT
In
case you are giving the sehme sadat portion
directly to a sadat, then you are
responsible to make sure that the person
receiving sehme sadat must fulfil the
following five general conditions:
1.
Must be a saiyed. This can be
determined in one of the following three
ways:
(a)
The person is famous as saiyed in the area,
where he normally lives.
(b)
A just witness testifies that the person is
a saiyed
(c)
You are sure or 90% satisfied by other means
that the person is a saiyed
2.
Must be a shia ithna asheri (ie
believes in the Imamat of 12 Imams of
Ahlulbayt)
3.
Must be poor (ie one who does not
have expenses for maintenance of himself and
his dependents
for one year)
4.
Must not be a relative, whose maintenance
is wajib on you (eg husband can not give
his sehme
sadat to his wife)
5.
Must be given sehme sadat for not more than
one year’s of his/her expenses
The
person receiving sehme sadat must also
fulfil five other conditions regarding
his/her character (to be discussed in the
next Fiqh Lecture Notes).
Lecture
# 11 (Friday 21 September 2001)
MORE
ON CONDITIONS FOR PERSONS RECEIVING SEHME
SADAT
The
five general conditions (as discussed in
Fiqh Lecture Notes #10) are that the person
receiving sehme sadat (1)Must be a saiyed,
(2) Must be a shia ithna asheri, (3) Must be
poor (faqeer),
(4)
Must not be a relative, whose maintenance is
wajib on you, (5) Must be given sehme sadat
for not more than one year’s of his/her
expenses.
If
a sadat traveller (musafir) becomes poor (faqeer)
(even though he was well off in his home
town), then sehme sadat can be given to him
as travelling expenses upto the extent that
he can return to his home town (provided he
fulfils other conditions for receiving Sehme
Sadat).
You
are allowed to give your Sehme Sadat to your
relative, whose maintenance is wajib on you,
only for those expenses, which do not fall
under wajib maintenance expenses on you.
This is only if your relative also fulfils
all conditions necessary for receiving the
Sehme Sadat.
CONDITIONS
ON CHARACTER OF PERSONS RECEIVING SEHME
SADAT
In
addition to five general conditions
mentioned above, a person receiving Sehme
Sadat must also fulfil five other conditions
related to his/her character. These are:
(1)
Must not be a salat-omitter (one who
omits namaz) (whether openly or
secretly)
(2)
Must not be a drunkard (sharabi) (whether
openly or secretly)
(3)
Must not be openly fasiq (committing
sins openly such as shaving beard, not
observing hijab etc)
(4)
Must not spend it in sinful activities
(5)
Must not get encouragement in sins by
receiving sehme sadat
According
to present mujtahids (maraje), an adil (just)
is that person who keeps away from all sins,
whether major or minor. Current mujtahids
are of the opinion that a person receiving
khums, zakat or
fitra
need not be an adil (just), but he/she must
fulfil all above five conditions.
For
giving other charities such as mustahab
sadqa, the condition of receiver being adil
is not
necessary,
and these charities can also be given to any
poor Muslim or even to poor non-Muslims
(provided they are not hostile to Islam or
Muslims).
According
to all Mujtahids (present and recent past),
the requirement of above five conditions on
character are on the basis of Ihtiyate Wajib
(precautionary wajib) for the person giving
the sehme sadat.
RULES
FOR GIVING SEHME IMAM
There
are three methods of giving Sehme Imam
portion to your Marja (Mujtahid whom you
follow):
(a)
Give personally to your Marja
(b)
Give or send to legal representative (wakil)
of your Marja
(c)
Give to an organisation, which has
permission (ijaza) from your Marja
Can
you give Sehme Imam to other Mujtahids
(other than your Marja) ? No. Even though
Mujtahids are
considered equal, there are two cases, in
which you must refer to your own Marja –
for getting fatwa (legal opinion) on an
issue, and for paying Sehme Imam portion of
khums.
One
must be very careful regarding ijaza
(permission) given to an organisation.
Normally the ijaza is in Arabic and in most
cases it is conditional. One should be aware
of the meaning and conditions given in the
ijaza document before giving Sehme Imam.
Some
wakils (representatives of Marja) have also
been given extra powers from Marja regarding
khums. These may include power of allowing
delay of payment of khums, or power of
allowing Sehme Imam to be used for other
purposes etc.
If
your Marja dies, then the validity of all
ijaza (permissions) of that Marja expires
immediately, and all wakils
(representatives) of that Marja lose their
wakalat immediately.
If
you are still a follower of Ayatullah Khui
(who is dead) through the fatwa of your
living Marja, then you should calculate your
khums according to the fatwas of Ayatullah
Khui, but you will pay your khums to your
living Marja (such as Ayatullah Seestani).
If
you send khums (sehme sadat or sehme imam)
overseas or within your country by post or
other means to the deserving or authorised
people, and the money gets lost and does not
reach those people, then the responsibility
is yours, and you have to pay it again
making sure that it reaches the intended
person.
RULES FOR SENDING
SEHME SADAT
According to current
Mujtahids, it is better to give sehme sadat
to deserving sadat in your own
locality or city where you live, even
though you are allowed to send sehme sadat
to deserving sadat outside your own city. It
is also preferable to give sehme sadat to
your own poor sadat relatives in the area
where you live.
If you could pay your khums
locally, but instead you chose the option of
sending your khums (or zakat or sadaqa)
overseas or outside your own city by post or
by other means, then you have to pay the
expenses of postage, bank charges etc
yourself, and such charges can not be
deducted from the actual amount being sent.
If it becomes wajib on you
to send khums overseas or outside your own
locality, then you can deduct the expenses
of sending the khums from the actual amount.
Sending khums overseas or outside your
locality can become wajib if (a) there is no
deserving sadat available, and (b) you are
satisfied that there is no chance in future
of getting a deserving sadat.
If a sunni Muslim becomes a
shia Muslim, then he has to pay the khums
(and zakat and fitra) for the period during
which he was a sunni if he gave such dues to
a poor person, who did not meet those ten
conditions required by the shia fiqh (as
mentioned in previous Fiqh Notes) even if
that poor person was deserving according to
his sunni fiqh. But he does not have to
repeat his salat, sawm, Hajj etc for that
period if he performed these acts according
to his sunni school of fiqh.
ITEMS
ON WHICH KHUMS BECOMES WAJIB
Khums
is wajib on 7 types of things. One of the
most common things on which khums becomes
wajib is the annual savings from the income.
Another
thing on which khums becomes wajib is
treasure (khazana). Treasure is that wealth,
which was buried underground by somebody,
and someone else finds that treasure all of
a sudden. In such a case khums on that
treasure becomes wajib immediately when it
is found (not after one year).
If
you receive a gift (in any form or cash)
from some one, and if that gift item remains
unused for one year, then Mujtahids differ
on whether khums is wajib on such gifts or
not. According to Ayatullah Khui and
Seestani, khums is wajib on unused gifts.
According to Ayatullah Khumaini and Khamenei,
khums is not wajib on unused gift.
Lecture # 12 (Friday 28 September 2001)
RULES ON CALCULATING
KHUMS
The most common item on
which khums is wajib is the ANNUAL
SAVINGS from your income after deducting
all allowable (mubah) expenses after one
year. The normal amount of khums payable is
20% (or one fifth) of the annual savinngs on
your chosen khums date. Annual savings
include:
(a) all cash savings ,
and
(b) savings on those
items which decrease as you spend (eg
groceries, petrol, perfumes, oil etc), and
(c) any new but unused
items bought or acquired during the year
(eg a new shirt bought & not used)
Calculation of khums must be
done as accurately as possible. It is not
allowed to pay a lump
sum amount (as a rough
figure) every year and assume that the khums
has been paid.
Islam does not recognise any
haram activity in payment of khums or in any
other acts of worship.
Thus, apart from annual
savings, the khums is also wajib on
(a) Israf (extravagence)
expenses during the year
(b) Haram expenses during
the year
Israf is
a major sin and involves those expenditures,
which are beyond the status (shaan) of a
person.
Islam allows a person to
lead a comfortable life according to his
needs and status but does not allow one to
lead a life above his status in the society
where he lives.
Haram expenses
include anything spent on those things,
which are haram (prohibited) and sin in
Islam. Examples: expenses on shaving
beard, money spent on haram movies, haram
musical tapes, lottery tickets, haram food
or drinks etc.
For calculation of khums,
you can use Hijri year or any other year,
which is common in the area where you live.
If you have been paying
khums on a fixed date (say 30 June) every
year, and if you want to change the date of
khums, then you should change to an earlier
date, and not to a later date. However, if
you change to a later date, say 30 July,
then you must also pay khums for that extra
period (from 30 June to 30 July).
If a person, who was regular
in paying khums, dies, then it is wajib on
his heir to work out and pay the khums of
that person from his property for the period
between his previous khums date and the date
he died. (This mistake is found to be very
common among momineen in the subcontinent).
If, after calculating your
khums on the khums date, you do not have
sufficient money to pay your khums
immediately, then it is allowed to pay your
khums in instalments so as to pay as early
as possible.
If, after paying your khums,
you doubt whether your khums calculation was
correct, then you should assume it to be
correct. But if you are sure, that your
calculation was wrong, then you have to
recalculate it correctly. This rule is
called 'Qaidah Firagh' in sharia, and
applies to many other acts of worship.
WHAT IF YOU HAVE NOT
PAID KHUMS BEFORE
If you have not paid khums
on any thing (eg israf or haram expenses
etc), on which khums was wajib, then there
are two methods of working out khums in such
cases:
(a) Ihtiyat (Precaution)
method: You pay a maximum amount of khums on
that item to the extent that you are more
than sure that you have paid the khums.
Example: if you spent $15,000 in a marriage
and you do not know how much of it was israf
expenses, then you pay a very high amount
(say $3,000 which is khums on the whole
$15,000) that makes you sure of having paid
the khums.
(b) Compromise (Masalehat)
method: You present your case to your
Mujtahid or his wakeel, and he decides and
agrees on the amount of khums you have to
pay for that item. This method is wajib for
that person who has never paid khums in his
whole life.
ITEMS EXEMPTED FROM
KHUMS
There is no khums on the
following items even if they remain unused
for whole year:
(1) Gifts: Only for
the followers of Ayatullah Khamenei and
Khumaini. For the followers of
Ayatullah Seestani and Khui,
khums is wajib on unused gifts.
(2) Mahr (Dower):
Amount fixed as Mahr in marriage and
received by wife from her husband
(3) Khula Money:
Amount paid by wife to husband when she
wants to get a divorce from husband
even when husband is
performing all his wajib duties.
(4) Jaheez (Dowry):
Items arranged by bride's father for the
bride at the time of marriage. Bride's
father does not have to pay
khums on these items on following
conditions: (a) Dowry is a custom in the
area where he lives, (b) It is impossible to
arrange the customary dowry in one year, and
can only be collected bit by bit, (c) Dowry
must not be in cash.
Lecture # 13
(Friday 12 October 2001)
ITEMS
EXEMPTED FROM KHUMS(Continued)
Khums becomes
wajib on the owner of an item when it
remains unused in his possession for oneyear.
For example, if you buy a shirt for $20
today, and if the shirt is unused for one
year fromtoday, then khums will become wajib
on your shirt (ie $20) payable at the
completion of that yearfrom today or on your
selected khums date. Similarly,
if
you got $1000 in cash today, and youspent
$400 from this amount during next one year
from today, then khums will become wajib
onremaining $600 payable at the completion
of that year from today or on your selected
khums date.
The first four
items exempted from khums were discussed in
Fiqh Lecture Notes #12. The nextseven items,
on which exemptions on khums may also apply,
are as follows
from anon-shia, and khums was not paid by
them, then immediate payment of khums on
that item isexempted on you. But khums will
become wajib on you if it remains unused
with you for oneyear.
(6) Items
Obtained from a Shia:
If you receive an item from a shia Muslim,
on which khums waswajib and has not been
paid, then according to Khui and Seestani,
immediate payment of khums isnot wajib on
you, but according to Khumaini and Khamenei,
you must obtain permission for itsuse from
your marja or you will be responsible for
payment of this khums. However, in any
case,khums will become wajib on you if the
items remains unused in your possession for
one year.(Example: If a husband (muqallid of
Khumaini) owns a house on which khums was
not paid, thenhis wife cannot use that house
unless she gets permission from her Mujtahid
or arranges paymentof khums)
(7) Khums-paid
Item (Mukhammas): If khums has been paid on an item by its owner, then there isno
khums on it ever in future as long as its
owner remains the same. But if the same item
goes toa new owner, then khums will become
wajib on the new owner if the item remains
unused for oneyear. According to Khumaini
and Khamenei, if you have used an item,
there is no khums after oneyear, but if you
have stopped its usage due to change of
circumstances, then, khums will becomewajib
on you after it remains unused for one year,
on the basis of ihtiate wajib.
(8) Deceased
Estate (Meeras):
· If
you receive your due estate (meeras) from
the deceased Muslim, there is no khums on it
even if it
remains unsued with you for one year.
· If
the deceased Muslim was not paying khums (or
had debts), then khums (and debts) must
bepaid first from his property before
distributing the estate.
· If
the estate you received generates income,
then khums will become wajib on the income
generated if
that income remains unused for one year.
· If
the value of the estate increases (eg the
value of the house), then there is no khums
on theincreased value even after one year.
· If
you receive the estate, which is more than
your due share, (eg your brother gives away
hisshare to you), then khums will be wajib
on that extra share if it remains unused for
one year.
· If
you get an estate all of a sudden (which was
not expected) from somewhere, then khums
iswajib on such estate if it remains unused
for one year.
(9) Items of
Na-baligh: Mujtahids
differ if khums is wajib on items or
property owned by a na-baligh(girl of under
9 lunar years of age, and boy of under 15
lunar years of age).
· According
to Khui, there is no khums on the items
owned by a na-baligh.
· According
to Seestani, khums is wajib on the items
owned by a na-baligh if it remains unusedfor
one year, and the khums will be paid by the
wali of the child (usually father).
· According
to Khumaini and Khamenei, no khums on the
items as long as the child remains
nabaligh,but khums will become wajib when
he/she turns baligh and the item then
remains
unused for one
year.
(10) Khums/Zakat/Wajib
& Sunnat Sadqa: If a person lives only on receiving these religious dues, then
Mujtahids differ if he has to pay khums on
savings from such dues.
· According
to Khui, he has to pay khums on any amount
or item unused for one year.
· According
to Seestani, no khums if his savings is from
Khums or Zakat money received, but he must
pay khums if savings is from wajib and
sunnat sadqa.
· According
to Khumaini and Khamenei, no khums at all on
any savings from such dues.
(11) Usual
Necessities: There
are certain necessary items, which are
expected to be available inyour possession
anytime, and these are exempted from khums
even if they remain unused for oneyear.
Examples of such items include: pain killer
medicines, one Quran, one Tohftul Awam
book,phone directory, one normal dictionary,
items related to specific profession, etc.
The criterion ofdetermining such items is
that people express surprise if they come to
know that you do notpossess such basic
items.
Lecture # 14
(Sunday 21 October 2001)
ITEMS
ON WHICH KHUMS IS WAJIB EVEN WHEN THEY ARE
USED
Khums normally becomes wajib on an
item when it remains unused by its owner for
one year.
But there are three expenses on which
khums will become wajib even when such items
are used by
the owner during the year.
These are:
(1) Israf (extravagence) expenses: If
you spend money on anything which is beyond
your status in the society where you live,
then khums will become wajib on such
expenditure.
Why? Because Israf is haram in Islam.
(2) Haram expenses:
If you spend money on any haram item
or activity, then khums will become wajib on
such expenses.
(3) Business expenses on assets :
These are explained below.
KHUMS
ON BUSINESS EXPENSES
If you own and run a business, and if
you buy something (an asset) for use in your
business, then khums will become wajib on
such items on your khums date.
For example if you buy a car, or a
building or machine or even a lamp for your
business, khums is wajib on such items.
If you hire something for your
business (eg hire a car, a building, a
machine, or hire a person), and if you pay
rent or wages for such things, then there is
no khums on such expenses.
If you have paid khums once on a
business item (which you had bought and is
in use) on your khums date, then, on your
next khums date, you can get a rebate in
khums calculation due to its depreciated
value. For
example, if you buy a car for business for
$10,000 today, then after one year (or on
your khums date), you will pay khums on the
purchase price ($10,000) of the car.
If at the end of second year
(or on the next khums
date), the value of the car drops to $8,000,
then you will gain a rebate of $2,000 on
your savings at your khums date, ie, if your
all business savings comes out to be, say,
$20,000, then you will pay khums on $18,000
(ie $20,000 - $2,000).
The same method will apply on each
subsequent khums date.
If you buy an item mainly for your
personal use, and use it also for your
business, then there is no khums on it.
If you buy an item mainly for your
business use, but you use it occasionally
for your personal use, then khums will
become wajib on such item at your khums
date.
Note:
Rulings on khums on business expenses are
quite detailed and are not covered fully in
these
Notes.
Please refer to the Risala of your
Marja for other details.
PAYING
KHUMS IN CASH OR IN KIND
If khums becomes wajib on an item,
then khums should be paid out of that item
(if it is practicable).
But Islamic sharia also allows you to
pay an equivalent value of it in cash as
khums. For
example, if
you have 5 suits of equal value
unused for the whole year, then you can give
one suit as khums to your marja or his
wakeel (because marja or his wakeel can
accept both sehme sadat as well as sehme
imam portion of khums).
If you have a shirt unused for one
year, then you have to pay khums on it in
cash.
According to all current mujtahids,
you can not pay another item in kind of
equivalent value as khums on the basis of
Ihtiate Wajib.
For example if your calculated khums
comes out to be $500 in cash, then you can
not give gold (worth $500) as khums.
However, you can do this by gaining
permission from your marja or his wakeel.
If khums was wajib on an item (not
cash) and was not paid on its khums date and
if the value of that item (eg a house) has
since increased, then khums will be
calculated on the increased value of that
item.
But if the khums was wajib on cash
and was not paid on its khums date and then
you used this cash to purchase an item and
the value of that item has since increased,
then you have to pay khums on the actual
value, not the increased one.
If you borrow $100 in cash from
someone, then according to sharia, you have
to return $100 in cash to him on the
repayment date even if the value of cash has
decreased.
But if you borrow a non-cash item or
a property from some one, then you have to
return the same item or the actual value of
that item applicable on the specified date
of loan repayment.
In certain cases, you have to return
the highest value of the item from the date
of borrowing to the date of returning.
In the calculation of khums on your
khums date, it is necessary to work out
khums as accurately as possible on all items
on which khums has become wajib.
It is possible that you may forget
including certain small items (such as
unused sajdahgah, kafan, prayer mat etc) in
your khums calculation.
In order to account for khums on such
items, it is advisable to add an extra
amount of khums to your final khums amount
such that you are satisfied that all wajib
items have been covered.
Later on, if you remember such
omitted item, whose value is less than the
extra amount of khums added, then you need
not worry.
However, if you have forgotten any
item of big value, which is beyond the value
of the extra amount of khums added, then
khums must be calculated separately on such
items.
OWNERSHIP
OF SEHME SADAT
After receiving sehme sadat, the
sadat becomes the sole owner of sehme sadat
amount and he can use it in whatever way he
deems fit.
It is not allowed to attach any
condition with it if you give sehme sadat to
a deserving sadat directly (as permitted by
Khui and Seestani).
For example, if a poor sadat was
asking khums for buying his food, you can
not attach a condition that he must buy the
food from the khums.
Same rule will apply in case of fitra.
A sadat, who has received sehme sadat,
is allowed to use this amount on his non-sadat
dependents. Similarly, a non-sadat, who has
received fitra, can use this fitra on his
sadat dependents.
If, after getting permission from
your Marja or his wakeel, you decide to pay
sehme sadat in kind (instead of in cash) by
setting up a small business or building a
house for the poor sadat, then the ownership
of that business or property must also be
given to that sadat.
It is not allowed to keep the
ownership in your name unless you have
obtained specific permission from your Marja
for such ownership.
Lecture # 15 (Sunday 28 October 2001)
WHEN TO PAY KHUMS
There are three methods on
when to pay khums when you receive an income
or any new item:
Method 1: You pay khums
immediately:
When you receive an income or any item, you
are allowed to pay khums on the whole amount
or item immediately. Then you do not have to
worry about waiting for one year and paying
khums on net savings or unused item.
Method 2: You pay khums
after one year: When
you receive an income or any item, then
khums can be paid after one year on the net
savings of that income or on the item if it
remained unused.
Method 3: You pay khums
on your selected khums date: You
fix a date of your khums calculation in a
year, and work out and pay khums on all
savings and unused items existing on that
date every year.Then you do not have to
worry whether the income or the unused items
were one year old or less.
FIXING A DATE FOR
KHUMS
Mujtahids differ on fixing a
date of khums payment as explained below.
According to Ayatullah
Khamenei, a person must fix one date of
khums in the year, for calculation of khums
on all savings and unused items etc existing
on that khums date. In such a case, he may
have to
pay khums even on those unused items or
income, which he acquired only a few days or
even a day before the khums date. Ayatullah
Khumaini's fatwa on this issue is a bit
complex, so one should refer to his Risala.
According to Ayatullah Khui
and Seestani, you have two options of fixing
your date:
Option 1: You
fix only one date of khums in the year for
calculation of khums for all savings and
unused items etc existing on that khums
date. In this case, you may have to pay
khums even on those unused items or income,
which was acquired only a few days or even a
day before your khums date.
Option 2: You
fix several dates of khums for different
types of items and income but in this
option, you have to keep a strict account of
each income and each item separately for the
whole year, as you will be paying khums
regularly on each khums date of each item
and income. Remember khums payment becomes
wajib one year after acquiring the income or
the item if it remains unused.
Option 1 is
simple to manage because you have to worry
about khums calculation only on one date,but
you are likely to pay a higher amount of
khums in a year. Option 2 is
difficult to manage but you are likely to
pay less khums in a year.
Ayatullah Khui and Seestani
also allow that you can combine the two
options for payment of your khums. For
example, you can fix one khums date for all
your household savings and regular monthly
income, and fix a separate date for any big
income or item you get in the year.
PAYING KHUMS IN
ADVANCE
Paying khums before it has
become wajib (ie paying khums in advance) is
not valid and is not considered khums in
Islam. Khums on an income or an item can be
paid only after you have received the income
or the item. You can not pay khums in
advance on anything, which you expect to
receive in future.
If you receive some money
(or income) today, then according to Islam,
khums becomes wajib immediately, although
you are allowed to pay your khums on this
money after one year from today after
deducting your lawful expenses from this
money. Thus if you wish, you can pay khums
on your income or any other item immediately
you receive it and then you need not worry
about paying khums on it after one year.
EXTRA KHUMS PAID BY
MISTAKE
If you have paid extra khums
by mistake (due to mis-calculations or
ignorance of khums rules), or if you have
paid khums by mistake on certain items on
which khums was not wajib, then you can not
take your khums back or can not adjust this
extra khums in the following year khums
amount. However if the person receiving the
sehme sadat knew that the khums was not
wajib on you, then you can take it back.
MORE ON ISRAF (EXTRAVAGENCE)
Israf is haram and hence
khums is wajib on such spending. How to
determine if a spending isconsidered israf in Islam?
Israf is determined by the status (shaan) of
a person in the community where he lives and
the urf (opinion of the people in the
community he lives). If majority of the
people in the community where he lives
express surprise on a big expenditure made
by him (in relation to his existing status),
then this is considered israf.
Is israf allowed in spending
money on good deeds? Some examples of israf
on good deeds are:
· You
give a huge donation in charity, which is
beyond your status,
· You
sell your sole home and use this money to
build a mosque,
· A
gift of huge value given by one momin (above
his status) to another momin, etc etc
Mujtahids differ if such
israf type spending on good deeds is allowed
or not.
Ayatullah Khui and Seestani
say that it is allowed to do israf in good
deeds (and khums is not wajib on such
spending). Ayatullah Khumaini and Khamenei
say that israf is not allowed even in good
deeds (and khums will become wajib even on
such israf spending on good things)
SOME MISCELLANEOUS
RULES
If khums payment has become
wajib on you and you are not in a position
to pay immediately, then it is allowed to
ask someone to pay that khums amount on your
behalf (if he agrees to do so), and then
settle the amount with him later if
required. For example, the husband can pay
khums on behalf of his wife and children on
a common khums date if the wife and children
provide him with all the information of
their personal savings etc.
If khums has become wajib on
an item on a khums date, but you do not know
its value, then it is wajib to determine its
value. If you can not determine its value,
then seek the advice of your marja or his
wakeel to determine the khums on that item.
If an item, which was of
value when you got it, loses its value and
is of no value on your khums date,then there
is no khums on that item.
Lecture # 16 (Sunday 4 November 2001)
PAYING KHUMS ON BEHALF
OF ANOTHER PERSON
Paying khums on behalf of
another person is not allowed without
getting permission from thatperson, because
khums is an act of worship and niyyat
(intention) is wajib. However, if you
getpermission from the Mujtahid or his
wakeel for that person then it is valid to
pay khums on thatperson’s behalf (even
from that person's own assets and money)
even if that person refuses to
givepermission. A mujtahid (or his wakeel)
has more authority in khums than the person
paying the khums. (For example, a wife can
pay khums on behalf of the husband in this
way if husband does not pay or believe in
khums).
RECEIVING
GIFT/DONATION FROM A PERSON WHO DOES NOT PAY
KHUMS
When a person does not pay
khums on his savings or items when khums
becomes wajib, then those income or items
are considered haram (unlawful) in Islam.
According to Ayatullah Khui and Seestani,you
are allowed to receive a gift or money from
a person who does not pay khums whether you
know or do not know about this fact. But
according to Ayatullah Khumaini and Khamenei,
you are not allowed to receive such gift or
money if you know that khums was wajib on it
and has not been paid.
If a non-cash donation (an
item) is given to a mosque or imambargah by
a person and it is known that khums was
wajib on that item and was not paid, then it
is the responsibility of the trustees or
administrators of that mosque/imambargah to
get permission from the Mujtahid or his
wakeel before accepting such item. But if
the donation is in cash, then it can be
accepted without permission from Mujtahid.
KHUMS AND PARTNERSHIP
IN BUSINESS
If you start a partnership
in business with any shia, who does not pay
khums after one year, then according to
Ayatullah Khumaini and Khamenei, the
partnership should not be continued, and it
is not allowed for you to use the whole
business earnings because such earning is
not considered halal. But according to
Ayatullah Khui and Seestani, it is allowed
to continue such partnership.
KHUMS-PAID ITEMS
If khums has been paid on
your cash money, then there is no khums in
future on this cash money even if you change
its form. For example, if you have $100 on
which khums has been paid, and if you buy a
suit from this money, then there is no khums
on the suit even if it remains unused for
one year.
But if you have not paid
khums on an item because the item was in use
(hence khums was not wajib on it) and if you
convert it into cash, then khums will become
wajib on the cash after one year if it
remains unused or on whatever remains after
use. For example, if you sell your house,
which was in use, then khums will become
wajib on the cash from the sale if it
remains unused for one year or on whatever
remains unused after one year. If your house
was already khums-paid, then there is no
khums on the cash from its sale.
KHUMS AND INSURANCE
If you pay premiums to the
insurance company to insure any item (such
as car, house) or to insure your life such
that you do not get the premium back at any
stage in future, then there is no khums on
such paid premium.
If you pay premium to insure
your life (or life of any other person) such
that the company will pay lump sum amount at
the time of death, or will pay you a lump
sum amount at the end of an agreed term,
then there is no khums on the premium paid,
but, according to all four Mujtahids (Khui,
Seestani, Khumaini, Khamenei), the lump sum
received will be considered as a gift and
rule of khums for gift will apply (ie khums
will apply on unused gift money after one
year according to Khui and Seestani, and no
khums will apply according to Khumaini and
Khamenei).
KHUMS ON
SUPERANNUATION (OR PROVIDENT FUND)
Superannuation is a scheme
in
Australia
, in which an employee contributes a certain
percentage of his salary to a fund, and his
employer also adds some amount to his fund
periodically. At the time of retirement (or
resignation), the employee receives a lump
sum amount of all saved money including
interest, or instead, he can get monthly
pension from this fund, or he can get a
combination of both. For khums calculation,
at the time of receiving any lump sum, you
have to work out the total amount of your
contribution from your salary (ie employee's
contribution), and then apply the following
rules.
If the scheme does not allow
you to withdraw your contributions whenever
you want, then after receiving the lump sum,
khums will become wajib on any unused
employee's contribution portion after one
year, and the rest of the lump sum will be
considered as a gift and rule of khums for
gift will apply.
If the scheme allows you to
withdraw your contributions anytime, then
after receiving the lump sum amount, you
will have to pay khums immediately on
that portion of the lump sum, which you
contributed from your salary, and the
remaining portion of lump sum will be
considered as gift and rule of khums for
gift will apply.
KHUMS ON FIXED DEPOSIT
If you pay money in a fixed
deposit (or in any savings scheme), and if
you are allowed to withdraw that money
during the year or on your khums date, then
you have to pay khums on that deposited
money on your khums date. But if you are not
allowed to take out that money during the
year, then you will pay khums immediately
upon receiving your total contributed
portion. Khums will become wajib on any
increased amount of this savings one year
after you get it if it remains unused.
KHUMS ON LOAN (QARZ)
If you give a loan to
someone, and if you can get it back on your
khums date, then you must pay khums on that
loan (even if you decide not to get it back
due to laziness or due to good terms with
the borrower, etc).
If it is not possible to get
your loan back on your khums date, then it
is not wajib to pay khums on that loan on
that khums date. But then you must pay khums
immediately upon getting the loan back.
However, if you wish, you
are allowed to pay khums on your loan on
your khums date even if you can not get it
back.
Lecture
# 17 (Sunday 11 November 2001)
PAYING PAST WAJIB KHUMS FROM FUTURE INCOME
PAYING KHUMS WHEN YOU TAKE A LOAN (PRINCIPAL)
PAYING KHUMS ON LOAN REPAYMENT INSTALMENTS
If
your loan is a Necessity (eg buying home for your own use), then there is no
khums on your periodic loan instalments
paid. Even
if you make additional lump sum repayment
during the year to reduce your Principal,
there is no khums on such lump sum
repayments. (If the bank or lender allows
you to withdraw such additional lump sum
repayments at any stage in future, then you
have to pay khums immediately on such
withdrawn amount if khums was not already
paid)
If
your loan is a Non-necessity (eg loan for buying a second home as investment,
buying a vacant plot of land, or any loan
which is not utilised in the first year of
loan eg taking a loan for medical operation
which is due after one year), then:
(a)
(a)
If the item/service purchased from
the loan has been consumed within first year (eg medical treatment completed), then
there is no
khums on periodic loan repayments,
(b)
(b)
If the item (asset) purchased from
the loan is still existing
after one year (eg a second home or a vacant
plot purchased), then khums
will be payable on periodic loan
repayments (or any additional lump sum
repayments).
In case (b) above, if
that Non-necessity item (asset) becomes a
Necessity at any time, then there is no
khums on periodic loan repayments made from
that time onward (eg you build a house for
your own use on the vacant plot, which was
initially considered as non-necessity)
TAKING
LOAN FROM A KAFIR
If
a kafir is giving you a gift or a loan with
his own stated or unstated intention, then
you are allowed to accept such a gift or
loan with your own unstated and different
intention.
This is called the rule of Istinqaz
in the terminology of fiqh.
According
to all Mujtahids, taking a loan with
interest (riba) is haram (sinful), but is
such a loan batil (void) also ?
According to some Mujtahids, such a
loan is batil and so you can not use the
Principal loan amount.
But according to Ayatullah Khui,
Seestani, Khomeini, and Khamenei, the act of
taking such a loan is haram but the loan
itself is not batil.
According
to Ayatullah Khui, Seestani and Khamenei, if
a kafir bank is giving you a loan happily
(even with its condition of interest), then
at the time of transaction, you can accept
it with the intention of istinqaz
ie you are taking the money from a kafir and
with no intention of taking the loan and
with no intention of paying interest (even
though you may actually have to sign the
formal documents and may have to pay back
loan with interest).
A
loan from a kafir bank can be accepted with
the intention of istinqaz
even if there is no extreme necessity for
such a loan (eg buying a second home, or
buying a plot etc).
The
same rule of istinqaz can be applied when borrowing and using money from a credit
card issued by a kafir bank.
