Advanced search
Visit
7155
Last Updated: 2012/02/15
Summary of question
Is property that becomes liable for Zakāt also liable for Khums? Which things must one pay Zakāt on? What is the difference between Zakāt and Khums?
question
Is it also necessary to pay Khums on property that Zakāt has already been given for? What things are liable for Zakāt? What is the difference between Khums and Zakāt in relation to property? Is it permissible to give our Zakāt to close family and friends who are poverty-stricken? Does Zakāt take the place of taxation (i.e. if someone pays Zakāt, can they be excused from taxation)?
Concise answer

For those things upon which Zakāt is obligatory, after having paid Zakāt on them, if the [Khums] year passes and they exceed his expenses for the year, its [Khums] must be paid.[1]

Zakāt applies to nine things: 1) wheat 2) barley 3) dates 4) raisins 5) gold 6) silver[2] 7) camels 8) cows, and 9) sheep. If someone owns one of these nine, and certain conditions are met, he/she must give the allocated amount to be disposed for the purposes specified.[3]

Therefore, if a person is in possession of the abovementioned items, wherever the conditions are met, they must pay Zakāt on them. However, if someone owns assets or property other than those mentioned, then through other conditions, Khums would be due [on that property].

Another difference between Khums and Zakāt is that the latter is not payable to the poor amongst the Hashemite Sādāt (decedents of bani Hashim)[4], on the contrary; half of Khums is allocated for poor Hashemite Sādāt.[5]

For those whom Zakāt is obligatory, they can pay their dues to close-ones who fall under the category of being poor, however it is not permissible to use the Zakāt to pay the expenditures of those whom they are responsible for [through obligation], such as one’s children.[6] In addition, an alternative use for the Zakāt is to pay it to the representative of the Imām, or someone who has been given the responsibility by the Imām to collect and preserve the Zakāt, also to keep an account of it and [eventually] to deliver it to the Imām, his representative, or the poor.

Essentially, paying the Zakāt has no relation to paying taxes (the two are not connected); taxes are something collected by all governments to fulfill their expenditures.



[1] Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 10; also, see: Sirat al-Najat (of Ayatullah Khu’i with Ayatullah Tabrizi’s annotations), vol. 3, pg. 119, question 360, Muntakhab Press, Qum, 1416 AH: “إذا تملّک الغلات بالزراعة أو باستثمار الأشجار، فتتعلّق الزکاة بها قبل تعلّق الخمس، فیزکّی أولا ثم ان بقی المزکّى الى آخر السنة زائدا عن مئونته، و زائدا على المال الذی صرفه فی تحصیله فیجب فیه الخمس”.

[2] The Zakāt of gold and silver is obligatory if they are stamped and are commonly used for in transactions. See: Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 130.

[3] Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 107.

[4] Nonetheless, the seyed/sādāt can receive Zakāt from another seyed/sādāt under certain circumstances; the grand maraji’ state: “The seyed/sādāt cannot receive Zakāt from non-seyeds/sādāt, but if receiving khums and other monetary alms don’t suffice him in his expenses and he has no choice but to rely on Zakāt as well, he can take it from a non-seyed/sādāt.” See: Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 155.

[5] Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 155.

[6] Tawdih al-Masa’il (annotated by Imam Khomeini), vol. 2, pg. 152.

Detailed Answer
This question does not have a detailed answer.
Question translations in other languages
Comments
Number of comments 0
Please enter the value
Example : Yourname@YourDomane.ext
Please enter the value
Please enter the value

Thematic Category

Random questions

  • Is it true that some Muslim Gnostics can fly or levitate?
    12266 Practical 2007/02/08
    That which you have mentioned is an effect and result of Man’s spiritual strength, sometimes this may come about by acting in accordance with religious laws and legitimate ascetic discipline. This means that; by moving closer to Allah, Man can possess the greatest name ...
  • What are the distinct criteria through which we can distinguish a lafdhi mutawatir report from an ijmali or ma\'anawi one?
    9619 Contextual study 2014/09/28
    Mutawatir literally means for things to come one after another, without any interval between them and in hadithic terms, refers to a hadith that has been narrated by a group of narrators that one can be definite haven’t all agreed on forging and lying about altogether. Any ...
  • What are the features and privileges of Behar al-Anwar?
    6998 Contextual study 2015/05/03
    Behar al-Anwa being a huge hadith collection is the most important work by Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlisi. It is a big encyclopedia of Shiite traditions encompassing all religious issues and themes including exegesis of the Quran, history, jurisprudence, theology etc. Some of the most important features of ...
  • Please explain the principles of Sheikh Toosi's political thought.
    8594 Laws and Jurisprudence 2010/12/21
     With the emergence of every era new needs and questions are generated which cause scientists and scholars to think and contemplate and strive to find appropriate answers to, and Sheikh Toosi is one the great scholars who has carried such a burden. The fundamentals of ...
  • Are there any women who reached the rank of ijtihad in religious seminaries?
    9574 تاريخ بزرگان 2007/11/04
    A worthy interaction of Islam with science, and requiring that from every Muslim man and woman, has resulted in women always studying the sciences in Islamic communities and finally some of them reached the rank of ijtihad.As an example, lady Mujtahideh Amin who passed away in 1403h. Lady Mujtahideh ...
  • Who were the Ansar?
    9406 تاريخ بزرگان 2010/04/07
    Ansar is the plural form of Naser from the root of Nasr, and means people who help and aid. In the advent of Islam, the residents of Medinah and its outskirts, especially the members of the two tribes of the Aws and Khazraj were called the Ansar, because ...
  • What is the relationship between man’s efforts and the sustenance that has been measured out for him?
    12817 Traditional 2011/08/15
    There are two kinds of sustenance. There is a sustenance that we go after and a sustenance that comes after us. In the traditions, the sustenance that comes after us is called “the sustenance that seeks,” and the sustenance that we seek has been named “the sought ...
  • What is the proof for Prophet Adam and Nuh (pbuh) being buried in Najaf?
    23457 تاريخ بزرگان 2010/07/20
    The main reasoning that proves the burial of Prophet Adam and Nuh (pbuh) in Najaf are the many hadith that disclose this fact. ...
  • Is it permissible to evade government tax in non-Islamic countries?
    7801 Laws and Jurisprudence 2011/01/10
    The answer given by Ayatollah Mahdi Hadavi Tehrani is as follows:1. You must abide by the rules of the country in which you are living except for when the rules may be opposed to Islamic Shari'ah.
  • I wish to know what the seven paradises are. Can you explain them for me?
    47501 Traditional 2012/04/07
    Dar al-Salam (Abode of Peace), Dar al-Jalal (Abode of Glory), Jannatul Mava (Garden of Refuge), Jannatul Khuld (Garden of Eternity), Jannatul Adan (Garden of Eden), Jannatul Firdous (Garden of Paradise) and Jannatul Naeem (Garden of Bliss) (or Delight) are names for the seven paradises which have been ...

Popular