Khums, literally “one-fifth,” is a financial obligation recognized in Twelver Shiʿa jurisprudence. It requires a Muslim to pay one-fifth of certain forms of wealth specified by Islamic law. Based on Shiʿi jurisprudence, the obligation of khums is derived from the Qur’an[1] and the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) and the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). This article presents the Khums Rulings according to the religious verdict (Fatawa) of Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, relying specifically on Chapter Six, “The One-Fifth Tax (Khums),” of the fourth English edition of Islamic Laws[2] .
The Seven Categories on Which Khums Becomes Obligatory
Ayatollah Sistani begins the chapter by identifying seven categories on which khums becomes obligatory: surplus income from earnings and gains; mined products; treasure troves; lawful property mixed with unlawful property; precious stones acquired by underwater diving; spoils of war; and land that a dhimmī purchases from a Muslim, based on the opinion held by most jurists[3]. These Khums Rulings therefore extend well beyond salary or cash savings, although surplus annual income is the category most frequently encountered in ordinary life.
The first category is surplus income from earnings and gains. Whenever a person acquires property through trade, craftsmanship, employment, or another form of earning, khums is due if the property exceeds the person’s and his family’s living expenses for the year. The ruling expressly includes wages received for religious services, such as performing prayers or fasts on behalf of a deceased person[4]. In practical terms, the Khums Rulings focus not simply on gross income but on the surplus that remains after legitimate annual expenses.
Property acquired without direct earning can also fall within this framework. A gift is generally liable for khums if it remains beyond the recipient’s living expenses for the year. By contrast, a wife’s mahr, property received by a husband in exchange for a Khulʿ divorce, religious blood money (diyah), and inheritance received according to valid inheritance laws are ordinarily exempt. Property inherited through a method regarded as invalid in Shiʿi law is treated as a gain, while an unexpected inheritance from someone other than one’s father or son is liable, as an obligatory precaution, if it exceeds annual expenses[5].
These Khums Rulings make the legal source of property relevant to liability. An heir who knows inherited property carried unpaid khums must generally discharge it; the same applies when the deceased owed khums, although an exception applies where the deceased did not believe in khums or never paid it and gave no direction for payment by will. The chapter also distinguishes between transactions made with property on which khums was unpaid, gifts of such property, and property lawfully acquired from someone who does not pay khums[6].
Surplus Income, Earnings, and the Khums Year
For people with a regular occupation, the khums year is central to calculating liability. A businessman, merchant, craftsman, clerk, preacher, or another person whose work provides a significant part of his annual livelihood must calculate the surplus after one year has passed from the beginning of his earning activity. A person without an occupation who receives occasional assistance or incidental profit instead calculates a separate year from the time each gain is acquired[7]. The Khums Rulings thus distinguish regular earnings from irregular gains rather than imposing one identical annual starting point on everyone.
A person may pay khums on profit during the year as soon as it is obtained or delay payment until the end of the khums year. If, however, he knows that a particular profit will not be needed until year-end, Ayatollah Sistani states, as an obligatory precaution, that khums must be paid immediately. He also permits use of the solar year for khums calculations[8]. These Khums Rulings make the annual accounting method flexible while preserving the obligation once surplus is known to be unnecessary.
Saving by frugality does not itself create an exemption: money saved from annual living expenses remains liable for khums. Likewise, if another person pays all of one’s living expenses, one must pay khums on one’s entire earnings[9]. The exemption is therefore tied to actual, legitimate annual expenditure rather than a notional allowance that was never spent.
Legitimate Annual and Business Expenses
Ayatollah Sistani permits recognized annual living expenses to be deducted before calculating surplus. Food, clothing, furniture, purchase of a house, a son’s wedding, a daughter’s trousseau, ziyārah, and similar expenses are not liable when they are appropriate to the person’s social status and not excessive. Expenditure on a vow or kaffārah is also an annual expense, as are reasonable gifts and prizes.
The Khums Rulings thus assess expenditure in light of customary need and social standing. Hajj and other ziyārah expenses are likewise treated as annual living expenses; if the journey extends into the following year, however, amounts from the previous year’s profit spent in the second year become liable[10].
Income-producing expenses may also be deducted. Brokerage fees, transportation costs, and damage to tools or equipment used to earn profit can be subtracted before khums is assessed. If several business lines function as one enterprise for accounting and profit-and-loss purposes, a loss in one may be offset against profit in another. If the activities are separate, such as trading and farming, or their accounts are independently calculated, a loss in one cannot, as an obligatory precaution, be offset against profit in the other[11]. These Khums Rulings are important because business liability depends on net surplus, not gross receipts alone.
Remaining Savings, Provisions, and Household Property
At the end of the khums year, provisions bought from the year’s profit that remain surplus to need are liable for khums. If their monetary value is paid instead and their price has increased since purchase, the khums is calculated according to their value at year-end[12]. The Khums Rulings therefore require a year-end review not only of cash but also of unused consumable property purchased from current profit.
Household goods are treated more carefully. Furniture purchased from profit and used before the end of the khums year does not become liable merely because it is no longer needed later. Items customarily kept for future years, such as seasonal clothing, are likewise exempt merely because they were not needed that year. For other items not needed at all during the year, khums is due as an obligatory precaution. A woman’s jewellery that she no longer uses for adornment is not liable[13]. These Khums Rulings distinguish reasonable household retention from unused accumulation.
Loans, Debts, Capital, and Losses
Loans receive detailed treatment. A person who ends a year without profit and borrows for living expenses cannot deduct that debt from later years’ profits merely to avoid khums. However, if money is borrowed for a necessary or reasonable personal expense, such as a house or car, the outstanding amount may be deducted from future income while the debt remains and the item is in use, provided it was not already deducted. A loan taken during the year for living expenses may also be deducted if profit is earned before year-end[14]. The fourth edition identifies this revised loan ruling as a significant update. The Khums Rulings therefore make the purpose and timing of debt decisive.
Borrowing simply to increase wealth or buy something unnecessary does not create the same exemption. If such a loan is repaid from the year’s profit without paying khums, the borrowed money or the item purchased with it becomes liable at the khums year unless it perished during that year[15]. Thus, repayment of wealth-building debt is not a general method of removing annual surplus from liability.
Capital and losses also receive specific treatment. If a person initially spends from capital but later earns profit before year-end, he may deduct the amount taken from capital. A business-capital loss may be deducted from profit made in the same year. Necessary property lost during the year may also be replaced from that year’s profit without khums on the replacement amount[16]. Genuine restoration of capital or necessary property can therefore affect the annual surplus.
Payment, Disposal, and Previously Unpaid Khums
Khums may be paid from the property on which it is due or by paying its monetary value. Giving different property that is not itself liable for khums is problematic and, based on obligatory precaution, should not be done without authorization from a fully qualified jurist[17].16 These Khums Rulings preserve clarity about what obligation has actually been discharged.
Once property becomes liable for khums and a year has passed, the owner does not have unrestricted disposal over it until khums is paid. Merely regarding oneself as indebted does not restore unrestricted control. A formal interchange settlement with a fully qualified jurist, however, permits the person to assume responsibility for the amount and then dispose of the property; later profit belongs to him[18]. The Khums Rulings therefore distinguish private intention from a legally recognized settlement.
Someone who has failed to pay khums for years must examine past purchases carefully. Necessary household goods known to have been bought, from that year’s profit, and used in the same year are not liable. If those facts are uncertain, Ayatollah Sistani requires, as an obligatory precaution, a settlement with a fully qualified jurist proportionate to the probability that khums was due[19]. These Khums Rulings make reconstruction of past liability evidence-based rather than arbitrary.
Minerals and Treasure Troves
Mined products include gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, oil, coal, turquoise, agate, alum, salt, and similar substances. When their value reaches the niṣāb, khums is due. The threshold is fifteen common mithqāls of coined gold after deducting extraction costs; the edition equates this to 69.12 grams. Later processing expenses, such as purification costs, are then deducted. If extraction does not reach the threshold, khums is required only when it, alone or with other profits, exceeds annual living expenses[20].
The Khums Rulings thus combine a mineral threshold with the annual-surplus rule in sub-threshold cases. As an obligatory precaution, a person who can do so must determine whether an uncertain extraction has reached the threshold; when assessment is impossible, khums is not obligatory. If several people extract jointly, each person’s share must independently reach the threshold.
A treasure trove is concealed movable property hidden unusually underground, in a tree, mountain, wall, or similar place. A person who lawfully acquires it must pay khums when its value reaches 105 mithqāls of coined silver or fifteen mithqāls of coined gold[21]. Ownership must first be established. Where there is a reasonable probability that treasure found on purchased or rented land belonged to a prior owner, that owner, and where necessary earlier owners, must be informed.
These Khums Rulings show that khums never replaces the prior duty to establish lawful ownership. When several treasures are found without a long interval, their values may be combined; a long interval causes separate calculation. If two finders’ collective treasure reaches the threshold but neither individual share does, khums is not obligatory on those shares[22].
Lawful Property Mixed with Unlawful Property
A distinct category arises when lawful and unlawful property become inseparably mixed. If neither the owner nor the quantity of the unlawful portion is known, and it is also unknown whether that portion is less or more than one-fifth, paying khums makes the property lawful. As an obligatory precaution, it must be given to someone entitled to both khums and radd al-maẓālim[23]. The Khums Rulings here resolve a specific uncertainty; they do not mean that unlawfully acquired wealth can generally be purified by paying twenty percent.
If the unlawful quantity is known but its owner is unknown, that amount must instead be given as ṣadaqah on the owner’s behalf, with a fully qualified jurist’s permission as an obligatory precaution. If the owner is known but the quantity uncertain, the owner must receive at least the amount certainly his, with further precaution where the possessor caused the mixing. If the owner later appears and does not accept the earlier payment or charity, reimbursement may still be required[24]. These Khums Rulings protect identifiable ownership rights and preserve restitution.
Gems Acquired by Diving, Spoils of War, and Land Purchased by a Dhimmī
Pearls, coral, and other gems obtained through underwater diving are subject to khums when their value reaches eighteen nukhuds of gold, equivalent to 3.456 grams. Multiple dives may be combined when they occur without a long interval, while widely separated dives are assessed independently; related Khums Rulings also address gems obtained by other means or discovered incidentally[25].
Spoils acquired in a war conducted under the Imam’s command are likewise subject to khums after the Imam’s exclusive share is set aside, whereas spoils taken without his authorization belong to the Imam; property belonging to Muslims, dhimmīs, or parties protected by peace or security agreements is excluded[26].
Regarding land purchased by a dhimmī from a Muslim, Ayatollah Sistani cites the majority juristic view that khums is due but treats the obligation, as commonly understood, on the basis of obligatory precaution[27].
Distribution of Khums
After calculation, khums is divided into two shares: Sahm al-sādāt, which is given to an eligible poor Sayyid, poor orphan Sayyid, or Sayyid stranded on a journey, and Sahm al-imām, which during the Imam’s occultation must be given to a fully qualified jurist or spent with his authorization; as an obligatory precaution, the jurist should be the most learned Marjaʿ and knowledgeable about public affairs[28].
Eligibility for Sahm al-sādāt must be established: an orphan Sayyid must be poor, a stranded Sayyid may receive khums even if not poor at home, and khums must not be given to a non-Twelver Sayyid or in a way that facilitates sin. Sayyid descent must also be verified through reliable evidence[29].
The Khums Rulings further restrict payment where the payer is already responsible for the recipient’s maintenance; for example, a man should not, as an obligatory precaution, use khums to cover the obligatory living expenses of his Sayyidah wife, and a recipient should not receive more than his annual needs[30].
Khums may be transferred to another town, but the payer remains responsible for loss if he transfers it independently, whereas authorized transfer through a qualified jurist may remove that liability in the absence of negligence. The rulings also prohibit overvaluing property given in lieu of khums and restrict substitution of non-cash property without authorization[31].
A Practical Method for Applying the Rulings
For ordinary earners, a practical method begins with identifying the correct khums year and recording income received. One then separates legitimate annual and income-producing expenses from savings, unused surplus, and nonessential accumulation. Debts must be classified by purpose and timing rather than deducted automatically; business owners must also determine whether different activities form one accounting enterprise or separate enterprises. The Khums Rulings require these distinctions before the twenty-percent calculation.
After the genuinely liable surplus is identified, one-fifth is payable. If the surplus is 5,000 monetary units, for example, khums is 1,000. The arithmetic is simple; classification, timing, ownership, debt, and past non-payment are often harder. In uncertain cases, the Khums Rulings repeatedly require or contemplate recourse to a fully qualified jurist, especially where authorization or settlement is necessary.
Conclusion
Ayatollah Sistani’s Khums Rulings establish a comprehensive framework for determining when khums becomes obligatory and how it should be calculated and distributed. In general, one-fifth is due on surplus earnings remaining after legitimate annual expenses, alongside specific rules governing minerals, treasure, mixed lawful and unlawful property, underwater gems, spoils of war, and certain land transactions.
Proper observance requires identifying the source of wealth, determining the correct khums year, distinguishing necessary expenses from surplus, accounting for debts and losses, and following the prescribed procedures for payment and distribution. When liability is uncertain or authorization is required, consultation with a fully qualified jurist is necessary to ensure compliance with Ayatollah Sistani’s jurisprudential rulings.
Notes:
[1] . Qur’an 8:41.
[2] . Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, Islamic Laws: According to the Fatwas of His Eminence al-Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, 4th ed., trans. and ann. Mohammed Ali Ismail (The World Federation of KSIMC, 2023), Chapter Six, “The One-Fifth Tax (Khums).”
[3] . Ibid., Ruling 1768.
[4] . Ibid., Ruling 1769.
[5] . Ibid., Rulings 1770–1781.
[6] . Ibid., Rulings 1770–1781.
[7] . Ibid., Ruling 1782.
[8] . Ibid., Ruling 1783.
[9] . Ibid., Rulings 1773–1774.
[10] . Ibid., Rulings 1791–1795.
[11] . Ibid., Rulings 1790–1791.
[12] . Ibid., Ruling 1797.
[13] . Ibid., Ruling 1798.
[14] . Ibid., Ruling 1803 and accompanying note 22.
[15] . Ibid., Ruling 1804.
[16] . Ibid., Rulings 1800–1802.
[17] . Ibid., Ruling 1805.
[18] . Ibid., Rulings 1806–1808.
[19] . Ibid., Ruling 1814.
[20] . Ibid., Rulings 1815–1820; the edition explains fifteen common mithqāls as 69.12 grams.
[21] . Ibid., Rulings 1823–1828.
[22] . Ibid., Rulings 1823–1828
[23] . Ibid., Ruling 1830.
[24] . Ibid., Rulings 1831–1835.
[25] . Ibid., Rulings 1836–1842; eighteen nukhuds are stated to equal 3.456 grams.
[26] . Ibid., Rulings 1845–1849.
[27] . Ibid., Ruling 1850.
[28] . Ibid., Ruling 1851.
[29] . Ibid., Rulings 1852–1857.
[30] . Ibid., Rulings 1858–1861.
[31] . Ibid., Rulings 1862–1864.
Adapted from Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, Islamic Laws: According to the Fatwas of His Eminence al-Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, 4th ed., translated and annotated by Mohammed Ali Ismail (The World Federation of KSIMC, 2023), Chapter Six, “The One-Fifth Tax (Khums).”
