1769. Whenever a person acquires wealth from commercial transactions, skilled trade or any other form of earning, even if it be the wages for performing the prayers or fasts of a deceased, then should it exceed his yearly expenses and that of his dependants (‘iyal) , he will have to pay its khums (one fifth of it) according to the instructions which will be elaborated in later articles.
1770. If a person acquires wealth without earning it, like acquiring a gift, which is of significant amount and value in the eyes of the people, and it exceeds his yearly expenses, he will have to pay its khums as well.
1771. Khums is not due on the wealth that a woman acquires as her mahr, nor the wealth that a man comes to possess from a khul‘ divorce . Similarly, khums is not due on that which a person comes to own through inheritance. However, if for example a person is related to another, but does not expect to inherit from him, he will have to pay khums on that which he inherits from him should it exceed his yearly expenses.
1772. If the wealth of a person who prescribes to the precept of khums is inherited by a person, and the inheritor knows that the person has not paid khums on the wealth that is being inherited, he will have to pay khums on it after seeking permission from the ÎÁkim al-shar‘. However, if the wealth that is being inherited is not liable for khums, but the one being inherited owes an amount of khums, then what he owes will be treated like the rest of his debts, and as long as those debts are not paid off, he will have no right to utilize the inheritance. Should the inheritor want to pay the owed khums from the inheritance that he received, he will have to seek permissions from the ÎÁkim al-shar‘.
1773. If a person saves some extra money at the end of the year because being frugal in his spending, he will have to pay khums on it.
1774. If a person’s expenditures are covered by someone else, he will have to pay khums on his entire earnings.
1775. If a person endowes a property to a particular person(s), like his sons, and the property is farmed or trees are planted on it, yielding produce that exceeds their yearly expenditure, they will have to pay khums on it. The same will apply if they earn a profit from the property through a different scheme, such as renting it out, in which case they will have to pay khums on the amount that exceeds their yearly expenditure.
1776. If the wealth acquired by a poor person from the dues of khums or ZakÁt exceed his yearly expenditure, obligatory precaution will dictate that he pays khums on it. Additionally, if the dues yield an additional profit for him, such as fruits from a tree which has been given to him as one’s dues of khums, and it exceeds his yearly expenditures, he will have to pay khums on it. As for the money that is given to him in form of charity (sadaqah), he will have to pay khums on it if it exceeds his yearly expenses.
1777. If a person purchases a commodity with the very money whose khums has not been paid, informing the seller that he would be paying for the transaction with that very money, the transaction will be valid as long as the ÎÁkim al-shar‘ allows using one-fifth of it in a transaction. The buyer will then have to submit one fifth of the commodity to the ÎÁkim al-shar‘. However if he does not allow to it, the transaction with respect to that amount is invalid. Therefore, if the money acquired by the seller is still available, the ÎÁkim al-shar‘ will take one-fifth of that. However, if it is no longer available, he will demand an equivalent to that one-fifth from the seller or the buyer.
1778. If a person buys a commodity on credit, and then pays for it with money on which khums has not been paid, the transaction will be valid. The buyer will however be in debt to the seller for one fifth of the payment. As for the amount that was paid, if it is still available, the ÎÁkim al-shar‘ will take one fifth of it. If it is no longer available, he may demand its replacement from the buyer or the seller.
1779. If a person purchases a commodity on which khums has not been paid, and should the ÎÁkim al-shar’ not permit the transaction of one fifth of it, one fifth of the transaction will be invalid, and the ÎÁkim al-shar’ may confiscate one fifth of it. In the event the ÎÁkim shar’ permits it, the transaction is valid and the purchaser should pay an equivalent to the one fifth of its payment to the ÎÁkim al-shar’. If he has given it to the seller, he may repossess that amount.
1780. If a person gifts something of his wealth, whose khums has not been paid to another individual, ownership over one fifth of that property will not materialize for the person receiving the gift.
1781. If a twelver Shi’a acquires some property from a disbeliever or someone who does not prescribe to the precepts of khums, he will not be liable to pay its khums.
1782. If a tradesman, merchant, artisan or someone with a similar profession, acquires profit from a transaction—which will be the beginning of their financial year—they will be liable to pay khums on that which exceeds their yearly expenditure after one year has passed from the transaction. If a person is not a merchant by profession, but acquires some profit incidentally, he should pay khums on that which exceeds his yearly expenditure after a year passes from date he acquired the profit.
1783. A person has the option to pay khums on the profit that exceeds his expenditure, either from the time he acquires the profit, or he may postpone the payment until the end of the financial year. Obligatory precaution dictates that the one should measure his financial year according to the lunar calendar.
1784. If a person has a fiscal year for paying his khums, like a merchant or a trader, and he makes a profit but dies before the fiscal year comes to an end, the expenditure incurred up until the time of his death should be deducted from the profit, and khums should be paid on the remaining sum.
1785. If the commodity a person purchases for trade appreciates in value during the year, and he does not sell it, then should the value of the commodity depreciate before his financial year comes to an end, he will not be liable to pay khums on the value that had increased during the year.
1786. If the commodity that a person purchases for trade appreciates in value, and he does not sell it until after the completion of his financial year, in the hope that its value would further appreciate, then should the commodity decrease in value, he will not be liable to pay khums for the increase in value so long as the period of time he kept the commodity is common between businessmen. However, if he kept it for a period more than that without a justifiable reason, obligatory precaution will dictate that he pay khums on the increased value.
1787. If a person possesses non-trade property, which is not liable to khums, and if he has inherited it, he will not be liable to pay khums on the appreciated value, even if he sells it. The same will apply if he became its owner without an exchange, regardless of whether it was not liable for khums from beginning, such as a needed place of residence that has been gifted to him and has been utilized as a part of his yearly expenditure, or it was liable for khums and its khums was paid from the property itself, such as a property that is owned by hiyÁzah (acquisition of unclaimed land), the khums of which has been paid.
However, if he comes to own it through an exchange, and its value increases, he will not be liable to pay khums on it as long as he does not sell it. Should he sell it, then if the non-trade property is not part of his expenditure, the appreciated value is liable to khums. If it however is a part of his expenditure, the obligatory precaution will be that he pays khums on the appreciated value. In both cases, if it is spent on his yearly expenditure, it will not be liable to khums.
1788. If a person establishes a garden with the intention of selling it after it appreciates in value, he should pay khums on its fruits, growth of the trees, and based on obligatory precaution, the increased value of the garden. If he intends to trade with the fruits (of the garden), he should pay khums on the fruits and the growth of the trees. However, if he intends to make personal use of the fruits, he should only pay khums on the fruits that exceed his yearly use.
1789. If a person plants a willow tree, plane tree or trees similar to them, he should pay khums every year on their yearly growth if he has paid khums on the trees themselves. The same will apply if for example, he makes use of the branches that are usually pruned on a yearly basis, and his profits from those branches or in addition to other profits exceed his yearly expenditure, in this case, he will have to pay khums on it at the end of the year.
However, in the event that he has not paid khums on the tree, and it has grown, he will have to pay khums on the tree itself, and the growth of the khums, and the growth of his own share.
1790. If a person has numerous sources of income, for example, he receives rent from a property, trades merchandize, and cultivates land for agriculture, he should pay khums of the acquired profit from all the sources of income that exceed his yearly expenditure. If he acquires profit from one of the sources, but incurs a loss from the others, the recommended precaution will be that he pay khums on the profit he acquired.
1791. The business expenses incurred by a person, such as brokerage fees or shipping costs, are considered a part of the expenses incurred in order to gain a profit. He may deduct it from the acquired profit, and there shall be no khums on that sum.
1792. A person will not be liable to pay khums on what is utilized as a part of his yearly expenditure, such as the expenses incurred for food, clothing, household furniture, household items, marriage of one’s child, or dowry for one’s daughter, ziyÁrat trips and any expenses similar to these, provided the expenses concur with his status.
1793. The expenses incurred for a nadhr or kaffÁrah are a part of a person’s yearly expenditure. The same applies to property that a person gifts to another, or gives as a prize, provided that the expenses concur with his status.
1794. If a person lives in a city where the daughter’s dowry is collected over a number of years, then in the event that he is unable to procure it in any other manner, and failing to procure the dowry is incompatible with his status, he will not be liable to pay khums on what he spends on his daughter’s dowry if he buys it from the profits of that year and during the same year. However, if he purchases the dowry items the next year from the profit he acquired this year, he will have to pay khums on it.
1795. The expenses incurred for Hajj or ziyÁrat are a part of a person’s yearly expenditure that he has spent within that year. However, if his trip is prolonged to a part of the next year, he will be liable to pay khums on the sum he spent from the profit acquired from the previous year.
1796. If a person acquires profit from an employment or a business, and he has other wealth which is not liable to khums, he may deduct his yearly expenditure solely from the wealth he acquired that year.
1797. A person must give as khums one fifth from the provisions that he buys for use during the year using profits of his earnings, if it remains at the end of the year. However, if he wishes to give its value, then if it has appreciated in value from the time that he bought it, he should pay its value at the end of the year.
1798. If a person purchases household items from his profits prior to paying khums on it, he will not have to pay khums on the items after he ceases to need them. The same will apply to women’s jewelry, so long as the time for adorning herself with them has passed.
