Waheed Akberzie asked 10 months ago
Salam a laikum and thank you for your time,
I have paid my khums, 20% of my savings, every year but after researching and trying to learn more about different aspects of Islam I have come to learn that Khums was collected differently by the 6th Imam, Jafar as-Sadiq, and other Imams where it was not applied as a tax on general income.
This appeared to have changed with the 9th Imam, Muhammad al-Jawad.
Given this change, why then do shias today pay this 20% of tax on savings and why didn\’t Imam Jafar also collect this 20% on savings?
What hadith supports the need for this change? Why are we not taught this early on?
All of the above has given me a lot of doubt and I have considered only paying khums as it was originally discussed by Prophet Muhammad and Imam Ali, without applying it to my savings.
Thank you for helping answer my question,
Fiqh Department Staff answered 10 months ago
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
As Salaamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wa Barakatuh,
We hope this answer finds you in high Islamic spirit.
In this era, we follow the Marja’ (a high-ranking religious authority) in matters of practical worship. Khums is one such act of worship, and we are required to follow the Marja’s verdict on it—unless someone is a Mujtahid (a scholar who can find rulings by themselves).
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