1852. Khums should be divided into two halves. One part should be reserved for sayyids, and should be given to the guardian of an indigent orphaned sayyid so that he may use it to pay for his expenses, or it should be given to an indigent sayyid, or a sayyid traveller who has become indigent. The obligatory precaution is that one should give the portion alloted for sayyids to them with he permission of a just mujtahid. The second part belongs to the Imam(Peace be upon him), which during the occultation age should be given to a just mujtahid who is aware of how it should be utilized, or be utilized in a cause that is authorized by the just mujtahid. Obligatory precaution dictates that the just mujtahid should be the most learned.
1853. An orphaned sayyid to whom khums is given should be indigent. However, one may give khums to a sayyid who has become needy while on a journey even if he is not considered indigent in his hometown.
1854. It is impermissible to give khums to a sayyid who has become needy while on a journey if his journey is a sinful one.
1855. It is permissible to give khums to a sayyid who is not considered just. However, one may not give it to a sayyid who is not a twelver Shi’a
1856. If a sayyid is sinful, and giving him khums amounts to aiding him in committing sins, it is not permissible to give him khums. Obligatory precaution dictates that khums should not be given to a sinful sayyid if he sins publicly, even if giving him khums will not help him in committing sins.
1857. One may not give khums to a person based on his claim of being sayyid, unless two just persons testify to his being sayyid, or if it is well known among the people that he is sayyid, in a manner that a person is certain or confident that he is a sayyid. It is not improbable that one may establish a person being sayyid through the testimony of a trustworthy person, so long as there is no reasonable doubt that his word is inaccurate.
1858. It is permissible to give khums to a person who is well known as a sayyid in his hometown, even if a person is not certain or satisfied that he is a sayyid, as long as there is no strong reason to assume otherwise.
1859. If a person’s wife is a sayyidah, he may not give khums to her to be used for her expenses. However, if she is obligated to pay for the expenses of other individuals, and she is unable to do so, one may give his khums to her to be used for their expenses. The same applies with respect to giving khums to her to be spent for her subsistence which is non-obligatory (on the husband), as long as it forms a part of her expenses.
1860. If the daily expenses of a sayyid or a sayyidah, who is not his wife, are obligatory on a person, he may not meet their obligatory daily expenses such as food, clothing and other similar expenses by means of khums. However, there is no problem if a person gives them khums in order for it to be spent for their subsistence which is non-obligatory (on him), as long as it forms a part of their expenses.
1861. It is permissible to give khums to an indiget sayyid whose daily expenditure is obligatory on another person and he (the latter) is unable to provide it, or he is able to provide it but does fail to do so.
1862. Obligatory precaution dictates that a person should not give an indigent sayyid a sum of khums that exceeds his yearly expenditure.
1863. If there is no sayyid entitled to khums in a person’s city, and he is certain or confident that he will not find such a person in his city in the future either, or if perserving the khums until a deserving person is found is not possible, he should take the khums to another city in order to give it to a deserving person. He may deduct the expenditure of the trip from the khums, although the obligatory precaution is that he should obtain permission from the ÎÁkim al-shar’ for deducting the traveling costs. If the khums is lost or destroyed owing to his negligence, he will be responsible for it. However, if he was not negligent in preserving it, he shall not be held responsible for it.
1864. If there is no individual entitled to khums in a person’s city, he may take the khums to another city even if he is certain or confident that he will find a deserving person in his city in the future, and preserving the khums is possible. If the khums is lost or destroyed, and he was not negligent in preserving it, he shall not be held responsible for it. However, he should not deduct the traveling costs from the khums.
1865. If there is an entitled to khums in a person’s city, he may take the khums to another city in order to give it to a deserving person there so long as it is not deemed negligence in paying khums. However, he should not deduct the traveling expenses from the khums, and if the khums is lost or destroyed, he shall be responsible for it, even if he was not negligent in preserving it.
1866. If a person takes khums to another city with the permission of the ÎÁkim al-shar’, he will not be responsible for it if it is lost or destroyed. The same will apply if he gives it to a person who is a representative of the ÎÁkim al-shar’ or has obtained permission from him, and he transfers the khums from that city to another.
1867. As elaborated in article 1806, obligatory precaution dictates that it is not permissible to give khums from a different commodity, with the exception of conventional money, unless permission is obtained from the ÎÁkim al-shar’. In the event that it is permissible, such as a case where the ÎÁkim al-shar’ grants permission, it is not permissible to appraise the commodity for a value that is greater than its actual worth even if the person entitled to khums accepts that value.
1868. If a person entitled to khums owes a sum of money a creditor, the obligatory precaution is that the creditor cannot adjust his debt against khums payable by him. However, there is no problem if he pays the khums and then the recipient can use it to payback his debt. He may also acquire representation on behalf of the person entitled to khums, collect it on his behalf, and receive it from himself as his debt.
1869. A person entitled to khums cannot take the khums and gift it to the person who paid it if gifting it will violate the right of the Imam (Peace be upon him) or sayyids. There is no problem if it does not violate their rights. An example of this is a person who owes a great sum of khums and has become indigent himself, and does not wish to remain indebted to those entitled to it. There will be no problem in this case if the person entitled to the khums takes it from him and then gifts it back to him.
