As a kind of solution for decreasing the financial problems of the Islamic society, especially those of underprivileged people, Islam has offered some ways that one of the most effective of which is Khums. In the literal sense, Khums in Islam means one-fifth of something and in the sharia of Islam is one of the most important financial mandatory rules and is generally defined as paying one-fifth of the remainder of your yearly income.

Generally speaking, Khums becomes obligatory in seven cases, but the one which is inscribed to income is considered as the most salient kind. In this case, one has to pay one-fifth of what has remained from his income after subtracting his own expenses on the exact date that he has paid Khums in the previous year; in other words, one should specify a date on which he would pay his Khums every year.

To Which Incomes Khums in Islam Belongs?

There are certain kinds of income that would make the payment of Khums obligatory: agricultural income, commercial and trading income, income earned through renting something (e.g., house, car, etc.), the income that one earns through working for someone else.

On the other hand, in some cases, paying Khums is not necessary anymore, including the inherited money, gifts, rewards, marriage portion (Mahrieh)[i], mortmain property (Waqf), borrowed money, money paid by the insurance company, money paid as a scholarship to university students, money the Khums of which has been paid once, etc[ii] [2].

To whom Should We Pay Khums in Islam?

Basically, Khums is divided into two parts, one is given to Imam – who is your Religious expert (Marja Taqlid) or other qualified religious experts - and the other part is for descendants of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) (Sadaat) who are poor, orphan or faced with difficulty on their journey.

Why Do We Pay Khums in Islam?

Generally speaking, paying Khums brings about two kinds of effects, in two scales: first of all spiritual effects upon each and second, financial advantages upon the whole society. 

1. Spiritual and Individual:

As one of the forms of serving God, Khums should be paid with the intention of Allah’s satisfaction; accordingly firm belief and true faith guarantees performing this task. What’s more, engaging in this activity will arise a sense of generosity and philanthropy in the person, wipes away greediness and avarice from his soul and provides the necessary condition for benefiting from Allah’s spiritual and material blessings.

Furthermore, by paying a certain amount of money to the religious experts (Marja Taqlid), one feels involved in the practice of spreading the religion and Islamic ideology in the society and will always remain in the right side, helping the people who follow God’s commands against those who have transgressed from His way.

Another result of performing the holy task of Khums is that it will make the person more financially organized and dutiful, feeling responsible for underprivileged Muslims in the society and striving in the way of Allah and His Prophet (PBUH&HP).

2. Financial and Social:

As we already know, one of the main reasons for sending prophets was to provide the necessary grounds for establishing social justice through people themselves. So, they brought many rules that would pave their way to achieve this aim, one of the most important of which is paying Khums.

In fact, Khums acts as an equalizer of wealth within the Islamic community; Each individual with the intention of God’s satisfaction and true faith, donate a part of the remainder of his earnings to one of the most reliable, faithful and God-fearing people in the society - religious expert - in order for him to spend it for the purpose of improving the society. 

Paying Khums provides the sufficient resources for the people who are engaged in preaching Islam in the world and in some way reinforce the Islamic government. This money will help religious experts to spend their time and energy in inviting people to religion, answering their doubts and clarifying Islamic rules and regulations for them.

Moreover, this holy task will simultaneously produce two effects in Islamic society: involving religious experts in people’s financial difficulties will result in a closer and stronger relationship between them on one hand, and being responsible to give certain amount of money away, on the other hand, will make people more attentive to one another’s problems, create a bond between different classes within the society and reduce the gap between them through fairly distributing the wealth. 

Notes:

[i]. A mandatory payment, in the form of money or possessions paid by the groom, or by the groom's father, to the bride at the time of marriage that legally becomes her property [1].

[ii]. It is noteworthy that the cases above are varied according to different religious experts.

References:

1. Mahr
2. Ayatollah Khamenei, Resale Amuzeshi (didactic treatise), Khums rules and regulations

Fasting (Sawm) in Islam is not a very complicated task- just like many other tasks in this holy religion. However, having a general knowledge of its rules and regulations is essential for all Muslims. Fasting is generally defined as the act of voluntarily preventing oneself from eating and drinking during a particular period in the day – from the time of dawn prayer(Salat al-Fajr) until dusk prayer (Salat al-maghrib). According to the Sharia of Islam, there are seven types of fasting that are obligatory for Muslims to perform [1]; one of the most important of which is fasting during the month of Ramadan. lets see how to fast.

How to Fast?

The process of fasting is quite an easy one; first, you will need to make your intention (Niyyah) clear for your fasting: “I will fast today seeking Allah’s contentment and closeness to him.” Note that you should make your intention- whether in your mind or by saying the actual words- before the time of dawn Prayer (Salat al-Fajr). The next step is to avoid doing certain actions during the time of fasting. Basically, there are nine actions that would void your fast:

Eating and drinking (if you forget you are fasting and ate or drank something unintentionally, your fasting won’t be voided)
Having sexual intercourse
Masturbation
Insulting Allah and his holy prophets
Inhaling thick dust
Immersing your head completely in water
Not having performed the obligatory ablutions before sunrise
Doing enema using liquids
To vomit intentionally [2]

Who Should Not Fast?

In certain cases, fasting would lose its obligation. If you are a traveler, you won’t need to fast, if you have become temporarily ill and by fasting your illness would worsen, fasting will be forbidden for you, and if you fast you have committed a sin.

Nevertheless, you will have to fast before the coming of the next Ramadan, instead of the one(s) you have missed. However, if you have a chronic sickness – e.g., diabetes- and according to your doctor’s view fasting is harmful to you forever, instead of fasting you will have to pay a certain amount of money in order to be given to underprivileged people in society called atonement (Kaffareh) [3].

Eid al-Fitr

Muslims celebrate Eid-al-Fitr, Feast of Fast-Breaking, at the end of Ramadan which falls on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal. This religious Eid is a single day during which Muslims are not permitted to fast.

Many Muslims attend a particular congregational prayer (Salat al-Jama'ah) to thank the Almighty who enabled them to fast and to remember the needy and the destitute. It is also compulsory for Muslims to pay Zakat al-Fitr (Fitrah) during Eid al-Fitr, preferably before offering the Eid prayers.

Zakat al-Fitr

Zakatul-Fitr is a mandatory religious tax paid by those who can afford it as a kind of charity at the sunset of Eid al Fitr night (i.e., the night preceding Eid day). Whoever is an adult, sane, neither unconscious, nor poor, nor the slave of another, should give, on his own behalf as well as all those who are his dependents, about three kilos of wheat, barley, dates, raisins, rice or millet, etc. per person. It is also permissible if he pays the price of one of these items in cash. Fitrah should be given to deserving believers whose income is not sufficient to spend on their families for one year [4].

Spiritual Effects of Fasting

It is noteworthy that fasting is not a mere act of depriving oneself of foods or drinks; in fact, the most important aspect of fasting is its spiritual impact upon man. It makes human's soul kind, strengthens his determination, and moderates his instincts. Trying to avoid foods and drinks in Ramadan, which are allowed on normal days, fasting helps people keep away from forbidden deeds (Haram) more easily.

Fasting is a special act of worship that is only between humans and God since no one else knows for sure if this person is actually fasting. Imam Ali (AS) explains the philosophy of this act as below:

 “Allah ordered the observance of fasts for fostering (the attribute of) sincerity within the people” [5].

Social Effects of Fasting

Fasting is also a practice for human beings to be more observant of their actions and to experience, even for a very short period, what poor people go through in their lives. God has obliged humans to fast to convey the message of equality between the rich and the poor; the rich experience the pangs of hunger and thus fulfill their obligations to the destitute.

If the wealthy nations of the world were to fast for just a few days in the year and experience hunger, pain and trouble poor people suffer from, they would probably exhibit mercy upon them, and there would not still exist any hungry people in the world [6].

The Health Benefits of Fasting

The miraculous effect of abstinence (from food) in curing various diseases has been ascertained in modern as well as ancient medicine. Lots of articles have been written on the medical and therapeutic effects of fasting.

In a well-known tradition, the Noble Prophet (PBUH&HP) says:

“Fast, in order that you become healthy.”

It is a fact that the cause of a great number of diseases is extravagance in the consumption of various types of food.

The prophet (PBUH&HP) also says:

“The stomach is the house of all maladies and abstinence (from food) is the best of all cures” [7].

When we eat or drink, we inevitably enter many toxic substances into our body; consequently, organs should always be working to get rid of these harmful materials. The detoxification process of the body will be considerably accelerated during the time of fasting.  

Since our body does not receive any substance externally, the materials that had been stored in the body will be used to produce sufficient energy; thus, the infections and microbes that were accumulated in our body will be released along with those materials and our blood will be purified noticeably. It has been claimed that fasting will balance the hormones in our body and will result in better functioning of our organs [8] & [9].

To conclude, the ultimate goal of fasting in Islam is to redirect our attention toward our inner selves. In addition, it serves as a reminder for us of our superiority to other creatures in respect to our power of will, our capacity to choose to fight against evilness and to refuse to be driven by our desires. In consequence, we would finally be prepared to reach the summit of humanity and become the perfect human who is worthy of God’s attention and reward.

May Allah bless you and accept your fasting as well as all your other good deeds.

References:

1. Fast
2. Fasting
3. 1:184,185
4. Sawm
5. Fasting
6. Fasting
7. How to Fast
8. Reza Paknejad. The First University and the Last Prophet. Vol. III. Tehran: Islamie Bookselling, 1346.
9. Herbert M.C. Shelton. Fasting can save your life. Trans. Masha Allah Farkhonde. 1st. Tehran: No Andish Publication.