Rafed English
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Q 1008: Some people take the responsibility to pay for the electricity and water bills of some sayyids. Is it possible to include them in one’s annual khums account?
A: What they have paid with the intention of paying sayyids’ share is accepted. However, in the future it is obligatory to acquire permission prior to the payment.

Q 1009: Do you permit anybody to buy and distribute Islamic books, using 1/3 of the Imam’s (a.) share of khums?
A: If our authorized attorneys deem it necessary to buy and distribute Islamic books, they may use for this purpose from the 1/3, which they have the permission to use in certain Islamic area.

Q 1010: Is one permitted to give the sayyids’ share of khums to a poor sayyid woman who is married and has children while her husband is not a sayyid but poor? Can she spend this money on the children and her husband?
A: It is permissible for her to take sayyids’ share of khums to meet her needs and to use it for herself, her children, and even her husband if the husband is not able to pay his wife’s sustenance and the wife is considered poor according to Islamic law.

Q 1011: A person gets the monthly stipend given by the Islamic seminaries. He also enjoys an alternative source of income, which is enough to meet his life needs. Can he receive the sayyids’ share of khums or that of the Imam (a.)?
A: Those who do not deserve khums according to Islamic law and to whom the rules of stipends from Islamic seminaries do not apply are not allowed to take from these portions.

Q 1012: There is a sayyid lady who claims that her father does not fulfill his duty to pay for their maintenance. The situation has now reached the stage that they are begging outside the masjid so that they may be able to get some money for their daily expenditures. It is also known in the area that this sayyid is a rich man but a miser and accordingly he does not spend on his family. Is it permissible to give them their maintenance from the sayyids’ share of the khums? And if the father says: "My responsibility is only to dress and feed them, on the exclusion of giving anything else such as pocket money and the things of specific use for women, then is it permissible to spend the sayyids’ share of khums for them to the extent sufficient to fulfill their needs?
A: With regards to the first situation in which they are unable to acquire their maintenance from their father, it is permissible to give their ma’ūnah from the sayyids’ share of khums. As far as the second situation is concerned, if they need something other than clothing and eating in accordance with their social status, it is also permissible to give them a sufficient amount of the sayyids’ share of khums to cover these needs.

Q 1013: Do you permit people themselves to give their sayyids’ share of khums to the poor sayyids?
A: It is obligatory for them to acquire permission with regard to giving the sayyids’ share of khums to the deserving people.

Q 1014: With regards to the use of khums, is it permissible for a person in your taqlīd to pay the sayyids’ share of khums to destitute sayyids? Or is it obligatory for him to forward the khums, regardless of whether it is the portion of the Imam (a.) or that of the sayyids, to your attorney so that he may spend it in deserving cases as per Islamic law?
A: In this particular issue, there is no difference between the sayyids’ share and that of the Imam (a.).

Q 1015: Do religious tithes (e.g. khums, repaying al-maẓālim and zakāt) fall under the jurisdiction of the government? Can a person liable to religious tithes give the sayyids’ share of khums, repaying al-maẓālim and zakāt to a deserving person?
A: As far as zakāt is concerned, he himself is allowed to give it to any needy individual who is religious and modest. Relating to repaying al-maẓālim, it is a caution to give it with the permission of the authorized religious authority. As for the khums, it is obligatory to give it to one of our offices or to one of our authorized attorneys to use it in an area allocated by shar‘. Otherwise, one should ask permission for giving it to deserving persons.

Q 1016: Does a sayyid, who has a job and earns for himself, have the right to take khums or not? I would be grateful if you could explain it.
A: People with enough income for their livelihood in a usual manner and in accordance with their social status in the common view have no right to take khums.

Q 1017: I am 25 years old, employed and single. I live with my parents. My father is too old to work. For the last four years I have been fully responsible for their living needs. I cannot pay khums while providing my parents with the maintenance. I owe 19,000 tumans for khums of previous years which I have to pay in the future. The question is whether I can give my close family members like my parents khums paid on my annual profit?
A: If your parents do not have enough economic power to meet their needs and you are able to accommodate their expenditure, it is obligatory for you to help them and the money you provide them for this purpose is considered as part of your own annual expenses. But you are not allowed, as per shar‘, to count it as your khums which is obligatory for you as well.

Q 1018: I owe an amount of money as khums, the portion related to the Imam (a.), which I should transfer to you. However, there is a masjid in need of some money. Can I forward it to the imam of that masjid so that it may be used for its completion?
A: At the present time, the two portions of khums are needed for the administration of the Islamic seminaries. The masjid’s building and its completion can be done through the generous contributions of the believers.

Q 1019: Taking into consideration that during his life our father would not have paid khums in full and we have granted a piece of his land as a gift for the construction of a hospital, is it permissible to consider that land as part of the khums paid on the deceased’s property?
A: The said piece of land cannot be counted as part of the khums.

Q 1020: When is it permissible for khums to be pardoned?
A: The khums cannot be pardoned.

Q 1021: A person, at the end of his khums year, has for example 100,000 tumans in excess of ma’ūnah on which he pays khums. Then at the end of the following year the extra money reaches 150,000 tumans. Is it necessary for him only to pay khums on the additional 50,000 tumans for the next year or does it have to be on the whole amount?
A: If the khums-paid money remains unused during the next year, there is no khums on it. But if the khums-paid money is mixed with the income of the next year and used along with it in providing annual expenses, it is obligatory to pay khums on the money saved at the year’s end in a proportion equal to that of the khums-unpaid money to the khums-paid money.

Q 1022: Is khums applicable to the income obtained by the students of Islamic studies while working and propagating Islam or to the portion of Imam (a.) they receive if they are unmarried and do not have a place of residence? Or can they save that income to be used for their future marriage without paying its khums?
A: The religious tithes granted by the respected marji‘s as a gift to the students of Islamic seminaries who occupy themselves with Islamic studies are not subject to khums. However, any income obtained from work or Islamic propagation is subject to khums if it remains in one’s possession until the end of the khums year.

Q 1023: An individual has a savings including khums-paid money and money on which khums has not been paid. On occasions, he takes quantities out of the total for his annual expenses and sometimes he adds some money to it. Then, if the person knows the amount of khums-paid money, does he have to pay khums on the whole amount or only on the amount on which khums has not been paid?
A: It is obligatory to pay khums on the money left at the end of the year in a proportion equal to that of the khums-unpaid money to khums-paid money.

Q 1024: Does one have to pay khums on a shroud bought but remained unused for several years? Or is it sufficient to pay khums on its purchase price only?
A: If it was purchased with khums-paid money, it is not subject to khums. Otherwise, khums of the purchasing money should be paid. As far as devaluation of money is concerned, there is obligatory caution to make muṣālaḥah with the authority in charge of khums.

Q 1025: I am a student of Islamic studies in an Islamic seminary. I used a little amount of my money, an amount of sayyids’ share, other’s grant, and some borrowed money to purchase a small house. Now I have sold it. Are the proceeds subject to khums at the end of the year if they have not been used to purchase another house?
A: The sale price of your house purchased with monthly stipend of the Islamic seminaries, grants of the good people, other religious tithes, and loan is not subject to khums.