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

After introducing the axioms of Islam and finding faith in them, the next step in this life-changing journey is to accomplish certain commands as a result of those beliefs which will lead us to a life of eternal satisfaction and bliss. Now one might wonder, what relates those fundamental principles or axioms – i.e., Monotheism (Tawhid) [1], Prophethood (Nubuwwah), and Afterlife (Ma’ad) – to practical principles in Islam? Are they even related? If yes, how is this relationship justified? What comes next will hopefully provide an answer to these questions.  

What is religion?

To have a better understanding of the relationship between the axioms and practical principles in Islam, we should first fully grasp the meaning of religion. Religion, in one sense, is defined as the collection of a series of fundamental and necessary beliefs -axioms- along with some practical commandments. The beliefs are the foundations, and the instructions are the means of putting the axioms into practice that may include juridical, legal, social, ethical, spiritual, and political rules and regulations.

The Elements of Religion

Having the definition of religion in mind, we can consider two elements or constituent parts for it: 1. Beliefs (axioms), 2. The practical commandments and instructions (practical principles). Typically, since the instructions are devised with regard to the axioms, then these principal beliefs are considered as primary, a prior, and foundational, while the practical commands become subsidiary, ancillary, and as the pillars built on those foundations.

In addition, according to the Islamic doctrine, the prerequisite of this religion is one’s faith in the existence and Oneness of God as well as in the Prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and the coming of the Judgment Day; that no one deserves worshiping other than Allah Almighty, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) has been chosen for Prophethood by Him as the last prophet and that this life is surely followed by another one.  

The first two are, as a matter of fact, the content of what we call Shahadatain or the two testimonies, that by uttering them, one will enter the world of Muslims. But, this is only a gateway to Islam and a platform for further practices that will ultimately make one a perfect Muslim and believer.

The Nature of the Relationship between the Elements of Religion

We might suppose many kinds of relationship between the elements - Axioms and Practical principles - of religion, including the pearl and shell relationship, the innate and parallel relationship, the root and stem relationship.

One case scenario is to consider the relationship between these two constituent parts like a pearl and its shell; that is one of these parts is primary, and the other secondary, and what matters is the primary one. In other words, it is enough for one to find faith in the axioms of religion and the practical principles are only there for us to reach those axioms; that being done, they have fulfilled their purpose, and there is no need for them anymore.

Analogously, the shell does not worth anything by itself; its only importance is to keep the pearl safe. Anyone who looks for a shell is actually after the pearl in it, and once he finds it, he will throw away the shell instantly.

Another case scenario regards this relationship of parallel and innate kind. It claims that religion has three aspects: Islamic law, the path, and truth. The axioms of religion are its truth, while the law and path - which are the practical principles of religion -   only provide the way to reach the truth. Thus, like the previous assumption, if someone reaches the truth, then he will no more need the law and the path. 

But what is the most proper relationship between these two? This association is neither like pearl and shell nor of parallel and innate kind. While we believe in the primacy of the axioms, we don’t consider the practical principles of religion as marginal and unimportant; there is a mutual relationship between practical doctrines of Islam and theoretical knowledge of religion.

If there is any suitable way of elucidating this issue metaphorically, that would be through the relationship of the root and stem of a tree. In this kind of relationship, no part can be considered as independent of the other, they closely correlate. Believing in certain axioms necessitates the manifestation of a particular demeanor which requires the reinforcement of the belief in those fundamental principles. Similarly, every root has its own kind of stem and fruit that will grow and be nourished by the sun and ultimately fortify the root.

The Difference between Axioms and Practical Principles in Islam

From what we have said so far, it is crystal clear that practical principles require active practice whereas axioms need knowledge and firm belief. Accordingly, in the case of the axioms imitation – no matter from who - is absolutely forbidden and they should be accepted through careful investigation and precise reasoning individually, while practical principles are mainly practiced with a degree of submission to God; the main purpose of these rules is the action itself.

That is why it is said that knowing and understanding the axioms is an “individual duty” – i.e. the duty that every single Muslim is bound to perform, e.g., performing Salat - for each Muslim, while being familiar with the practical principles is a “sufficiency [2] duty” – i.e., the duty that will lose its obligation if a group of Muslims has performed it.   

It is noteworthy that the actions and behaviors that practical principles suggest will not result in our spiritual and psychological revolution and development unless we have a thorough understanding of the axioms and have accepted them rationally. In other words, the religion is constituted of certain principles which are its intellectual basis and requires its followers to exhibit specific behaviors; these actions root back in those axioms, and the axioms are prior to them.

What are the Practical Principles?

Let’s have a brief look at the ten practical principles of the religion of Islam:  

Prayer (Salat): The performance of the daily prayer five times a day with a specific form.

Fasting (Sawm): The act of voluntarily preventing oneself from eating and drinking during a particular part of the day – from the time of Dawn Prayer (Salat al-Fajr) until Dusk prayer(Salat al-Maghrib).

The Holy Pilgrimage (Hajj):  An annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by those who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.

Alms-tax (Zakat): Paying an exact amount of money that has become obligatory through the rules of Sharia in order to be used in favor of the people in need or for certain beneficial deeds in society.

Khums: A money proportional to one fifth that every person should pay based on some certain criteria.

The Holy Struggle (Jihad): Technically, a special kind of attempt, which includes sacrificing one’s life and property primarily for the sake of Allah, elevating and sustaining Islamic beliefs and standpoints. In this sense, Jihad is the act of Defending the Islamic territory against the assaults and intrusions of outsiders and invaders. Literally, this word is defined as the striving of one’s soul against the temptation of the devil and his own whim.   

Enjoining what is right (al-Amr bi-l-maʿrūf): To invite other Muslims to goodness and righteousness, with regard to certain conditions and through specific manners.

Forbidding what is wrong (nahy ʿani-l-munkar): To dissuade other Muslims from doing what is wrong, sinful or immoral, with regard to certain conditions and through specific manners.

Expressing Love towards Good (Tawalla): To have a feeling of affection and love, affirmation, submission, and acceptance toward guardianship of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP), and the twelve Imams.

Expressing disassociation from Evil (Tabarra): having a feeling of disassociation and dislike toward the enemies of Allah, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH&HP) and twelve Imams. 

Notes:

[1] That God exists and He is one.

[2] It is enough for this duty to be performed by some people and then be followed by others.