Despite the fact that Khums is one of the main taxes in Islam, this topic has been poorly studied in the fields of Oriental and Religious Studies. This article presents a comparative study of the major aspects of the definition of Khums in Shia and Sunni religious traditions. By analysing the rulings of contemporary mujtahids and the religious practices and lives of Shi'ites, the author concludes that the most popular tax among Shi'ites is Khums. Despite Zakat is one of those taxes that have been most widely studied among Muslims, very few Shi'ite Muslims actually pay it. On the other hand, Khums is not well-known outside of Shi'a communities and Sunnis interpret it in a different way. Particular emphasis is placed on the “nature” of Khums. The obligation to pay Khums primarily derives from verses in the Holy Quran and hadiths from the Prophet Muhammad and the imams of Shi'ism. During the period of Imam Mahdi's Major Occultation, the Twelvers pay half or all the Khums to their maraji. Of greatest interest is the strength of the religious authority of these maraji. From a legal perspective, no sanctions are imposed for non-payment of Khums, as its payment is completely dependent on the piety of Muslims and the religious leadership of the relevant marjaʿ. It is largely thanks to Khums that Shiite clerics are economically independent today.
Key words: Khums, Islam, Shi’ism, Sunnism, mujtahid, marjaʿ at-taqlid, Islamic law, Islamic economics
DOI: 10.22250/20728662_2024_1_59
About the author
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Akif Tahiiev – PhD (in Law), Research Fellow at the Department of Islamic Law, University of Religions and Denominations (Qom, Iran); Research Fellow at the Department of Socio-Cultural Diversity, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity (Göttingen, Germany); This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |