Sunni Feedback on The Issues of Infallibility and Ahulbayt [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Khums (one fifth) We read in the Holy Quran:
Know that whatever
of a thing you acquire, a fifth of it is for
Allah, for the
Messenger, for the near relative, and the orphans
and the needy and
they way farer .

(Quran 8:41) Thus Khums (literally one fifth of gain) should go to six
people:

1.
Allah 2.
His Messenger 3.
The near relative of the Messenger (Ahlul-Bayt) 4.
Orphan 5.
needy 6.
the person who has fallen away from his
home-town (and has no money to
comeback to his own place).

The portion of Allah goes to His Messenger to be spent for
the path of
Allah.

After the Prophet passed away, and at the
time of the first 11 Imams, the first 3 portions used to go to the Imam of
Ahlul-Bayt to be
spent in the path of Allah.

Now that we have no
access to Imam Mahdi (AS),
a religious scholar will receive the first three portions
(which will be
half of total Khums) who will spend it on behalf of Allah,
His Messenger,
and his Ahlul-Bayt in the path of Allah (like spending it on
the
theological schools or any other things that they feel
necessary in
religious matters).

also, if the scholar does not
have any source of income
and all his effort is for the religion, he can only spend a
portion of what
he receives as Khums for his ordinary expenses which could
provide him an
average or below average lifestyle.

The scholar
does NOT have to be the
descendants of the Prophet (PBUH&HF) to be entitled to
receive Khums.
As for the last three portions, it doesn't go to a scholar.
It
can be
directly spent on the needy people who should be, of course,
the
descendants of the Prophet (PBUH&HF).

Note that
it is forbidden to give
Zakat (another religious tax which both Shia and Sunnis pay)
and charity to
the descendants of the Prophet.

Thus Zakat revenues
and charities go to
those needy who are NOT the descendants of the prophet, while
half of the
Khums goes to those needy people who are the descendants of
the Prophet.
One should also note that during the history of Islam till
now, the
descendants of the prophet were being prosecuted every where
and were
deprived of their rights.

Also a minority among
Muslims continue to pay
Khums (i.
e.
, only Shia follow this Sunnah of the
Prophet).

In other words,
only 20% of all Muslims pay Khums which heavily decreases the
amount of
what the needy descendants of Prophet get from Khums
(=20%*1/2*1/5=2%) when
it is compared with the amount that needy people who are not
the
descendants of the Prophet get through Zakat from all Muslims
(2.
5%) plus
all the charities which could be much more than 2.
5%.

In the verse of Khums mentioned above ghanimtum
has been used which has
been translated as 'you acquire'.

As explained
above, it means, 'certain
items which a person acquires as wealth'.

What are
these certain items?

According to the hadiths of the Ahl al-Bayt Imams, the items
that are
eligible for Khums are seven, and they are 1.
the
profit or the surplus of income 2.
the
legitimate wealth which is mixed with the illegitimate
wealth 3.
mines
and minerals 4.
the
precious stones obtained from sea by diving 5.
treasures 6.
the
land which a dhimmi kafir buys from a muslim 7.
the
spoils of war.

However there are some people who interpret the word
ghanimtum as 'whatever
of a thing that you acquire as spoils of war', thus confining
the
obligation of khums to the spoils of war only.

The
interpretation is based
on ignorance of * the Arabic
langauage * the history of
khums * the Islamic laws * and the
interpretation of the Quran
Please bear in mind that the word ghanimtum has been derived
from al-
ghanimah.

The meaning of the word Ghanimtum
The famous Arabic dictionary of al-Munjid (Father Louis Maluf
of Beirut)
states, al-ghanim and al-ghanimah means * what is taken
from the fighting enemies by force * all earnings
generally Furthermore the saying al-ghunm bil ghurm means
that profit stands
against expenses, i.
e, the owner is the sole proprieter
of the profit and
nobody shares it with him, therefore only he bears all the
expenses and
risk.

For the readers satisfaction, they are also
encouraged to look up
dictionaries like Lisan al-Arab and al-Qamus.

This implies that in the Arabic langauge ' al-ghanimah ' has
two meanings,
one is the spoils of war, and the other is profit.

The
above quoted proverb
also proves profit is not an uncommon meaning.

When
a word in the Quran can
interpreted in more than one way, it is incumbent upon the
muslims to seek
guidance from the Holy Prophet (PBUH&HF) and the Ahl al-Bayt.

The History of Khums
Khums is one of those things which were introduced by Abdul
Muttalib (RA)
the grandfather of the Prophet (PBUH&HF), and it
continued in Islam when it
was revealed in Quran.

Acting upon a command of God
given to him in his
dream, when Abdul Muttalib rediscovered the well of Zamzam,
he found in it
many valuable things that were buried in it very remote past
by the
Ismailites when they feared that their enemies would usurp
them.

When Abdul
Muttalib found that buried treasure, he gave away one fifth (
literally
khums ) in the way of God and kept the remaining four fifth
to himself.
Then it became a custom in his family to and after the Hijrah
of the
Prophet (PBUH&HF) the same system was incorporated in
Islam.

Thus the first
khums was not given from the spoils of war, but from a buried
treasure (
which is one of the seven items eligible for khums ).

The Islamic Laws
Not a single Islamic school confines the meaning of ghanimah
to the spoils
of war.

In addition to the spoils of war the
following items are subjected
to khums * minerals:
eligible in the Hanafi and the Shia * buried treasure:
eligible for all the muslims.

As already mentioned earlier, the interpretation of the Quran
must be based
on the teachings of the Ahl al-Bayt.

The word
ghanimah in the verse under
discussion has been clearly interpreted as the earned
profit (al-
fa'idatul muktasabah) by our Imams.

Some Sunni References
To conclude, we can say that the word ghanima was never
treated as being
confined to the spoils of war by any Islamic school; and as
far as our
Imams are concerned, it meant many things besides the spoils
of war right
from the day of Imam Ali ( peace be upon him ), as many
authentic
traditions show.

What has been quoted above is substantiated from the practice
of the Holy
Prophet (PBUH&HF) as well.

For example when the
Prophet (PBUH&HF) sent Amr
bin Hazm to Yemen, he wrote instructions in which, among many
other things,
he says ' .

to gather khums of Allah from
the gains [ of Yemenis ].
Please refer to * Ibn Khaldun, Tarikh Volume 2 part II p54
( Beirut 1971 ) * Ibn Kathir, al-Bidayah wan Nihayah
Volume 5 p76-77 ( Beirut 1966 ) * Ibn Hisham, Sirah Volume 4 p179 ( Beirut
1975 ) And when the tribe of Bani Kilal of Yemen sent Khums to the
Prophet, the
later acknowledges it by saying, ' Your messenger has
returned and you have
paid the khums of Allah from the gains ( al-ghanaim ).

Please refer to * Abu Ubayd, al-Amwal p13 ( Beirut 1981 ) * al-Hakim, al-Mustadrak Volume 1 p395 (
Hyderabad 1340 A.
H ) * Jafar Murtada al-Amili, al-Sahih fi
Sirat al-Nabi Volume 3 p309 ( Qum 1983 ) It is very interesting to note that the Bani Kilal obeyed
Prophet's order
and sent the khums of gains to him while no war had taken
place between the
muslims and the un-believers.

This is a clear
indication that khums was not
restricted by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) to the Spoils of War!
The importance given by the Prophet (PBUH&HF) to the
issue of Khums can
also be seen in his advice to the delegation of Bani Abdul
Qays.

It seems
that Bani Abdul Qays ( which was a branch of Rabiah ) was not
a very strong
tribe.

More over in order to travel to Medina, they
had to cross an area
inhabited by the Muzar tribe, which was against the muslims.

Consequently,
the Bani Abdul Qays could not travel safely to Medina except
during the
months in which war fare was forbidden according to the Arab
custom.

Sahih al-Bukhari Hadith: 4.
327 (pages 212-213) Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The delegates of the tribe of Abdul
Qais came and said: O Allah's
Apostle ! We are from the tribe of
Rabia and between us and you stand
stand the infidels of the tribe of
Mudar, so we cannot come to you
except in the Haram Months.

So
please order us some instructions that
we may apply it to ourselves and
also invite our people left behind us
to observe as well.

' The
Prophet (PBUH) said: I order you to do four
(4) things and forbid you to do four
(4): I order you to believe in
Allah, that is, to testify that None
has the right to be worshipped
but Allah (the Prophet (PBUH)
pointed with his hand) ; to offer
prayers perfectly, to pay Zakat, to
fast the month of Ramadhan, and to
pay the Khums.

Considering the facts that they travelled in the haram months
( when the
war fare ) was forbidden, the circumstances of the Bani Abdul
Qays who were
weak and small in numbers ( evident from their travelling in
the haram
months ), it leaves no room for interpreting the application
of khums in
the above hadith on the spoils of war exclusively! Please
refer for the
above hadith to * Sahih Bukhari Volume 4 pp 212-213 (
Beirut ) * Abu Ubayd, al-Amwal p13 ( Beirut 1981 ) More on Khums The following discussion is taken from Dr.
al-Tijani's
book, Ma'a al-
Sadeeqeen -- With The Truthful Ones,, pp 149-153.

Moreover, I used a Fiqh book based on the teachings of al-Khumeini for some of
the details.

I
also added my own remarks for purposes of clarity.

To begin with, we must quote the Book of Allah (SWT):
And know that out of all the
booty that ye may acquire, a FIFTH share
is assigned to Allah, and to the
Messenger, and to near relatives,
orphans, the needy, and the
wayfarer,--if ye do believe in Allah and
in the revelation We sent down to
our Servant.

[8:41] The above verse is a clear injunction by Allah (SWT), the
Creator of the
Universe, to give out a FIFTH (Khums) of our wealth in the
way of Allah
(SWT) to the needy, orphans, etc.

Let's continue.

The Prophet (PBUH&HF) said:
I command you to do four things: To
believe in Allah (SWT); to establish
prayer; to pay Zakat; to fast
Ramadan; and to pay the fifth of all
the booty that you acquire for
the sake of Allah (SWT) Sunni reference:

Shahih al-Bukhari, v4, p44.

Now, the problem with the interpretation of the text is that
the word
Ghaneema -- Booty is interpreted by the Sunnis as
that wealth collected
as part of a war.

That is not an accurate
interpretation of the Arabic
word.

The Semitic languages, which Arabic belongs
to, are based on the
verb form, not the noun form.

As such, the
translation of the word
Ghaneema is not all that accurate when the word
booty is used.

The Shia, in conformity with Allah's (SWT) and His (SWT)
Messenger's
(PBUH&HF) orders, pay 20% (a fifth) of their wealth at
the end of every
year.

In addition, the grammatical usage of the
word Ghaneema in Arabic,
as the Shia translate it, means that certain things that a
believer
acquires by way of a profit from a legitimate business deal
or otherwise,
is considered a Ghaneema, and becomes subject to
the laws and regulations
thereof.

Of course there are exclusions.

Actually, the
Khums is only applicable in
the following areas: First, ANYTHING extracted from the
earth like gold,
silver, metal, oil, and other natural elements is subject to
the Khums.
The minimum value of that which is extracted from the earth
is 20 dinars,
and one dinar is equal to 3.
45 grams gold in
value.

If that minimum is
not met, then the Khums is not required.

Second,
ANYTHING by way of hidden
treasures, if it meets the minimum value requirements, is
also subject to
the Khums.

Third, ANYTHING extracted from the
ocean like pearls, coral,
etc.

, if it meets the minimum value of 1 dinar,
not 20, is also subject
to the Khums.

Fourth, any EXCESS wealth that has
remained for one year
untouched is also subject to the Khums.

Exclusions to the Khums include,
but are not limited to, gifts, prizes, inheritance, a woman's
dowry, etc.

The details of the Khums are *VERY* involved, and it is
almost always
necessary to seek the advice of a Mujtahid before the Khums
is taken out.

The Sunnis have rejected that, EVEN though it is in the Book
of Allah
(SWT).

Furthermore, it is narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari,
v2, pp 136-137 that the Prophet (PBUH&HF) stated that any wealth that
was buried under
the ground in the Days of Ignorance (Ayam al-Jahiliyah) is
subject to al-
Khums.

Moreover, Ibn Abbas, THE most trusted
narrator of hadith in the
eyes of the Sunnis, said that pearls extracted from the ocean
are subject
to the Khums also.

It is apparent, that the Khums is NOT restricted to a booty
from a war, as
the Sunnis claim; rather, it extends to all of the above
issues.

If a truly Sunni Islamic nation was to be established, it
would fall short
of fulfilling its financial obligations because it depends on
the Zakat
only, which is only 2.
5% of one's wealth.

Realistically
speaking, can an
Islamic nation, as the Sunnis contend, survive on 2.
5% a
year from the
Muslim Ummah? Can it truly build an infrastructure that
would support the
masses? Can it build hospitals, schools, highways, etc.
?

No, it CANNOT, because 2.
5% is NOT enough, not by ANY stretch of the
imagination.

The Khums also serves another VERY IMPORTANT purpose in the
CURRENT Shiite
community.

It helps the Mujtahids maintain an
independence and separation
from the political implications which will happen if a
religious scholar
becomes dependent on the government for his bread and butter.

That is
EXTREMELY important.

The Sunnis scholars in
Muslim countries receive their
salaries from the government, which means that they CANNOT
utter a word of
objection to the policies of the ruler because their source
of income will
be threatened.

The Shiite scholars, on the other
hand, receive NO funding
from the government.

This way, they are free to
dedicate their lives to the
pursuit of justice for the community.

Now, for those wondering how the Shia treat the Zakat, then
follow along.

The Zakat, according to Shiite jurisprudence (Fiqh), is only
applicable to
the following categories: cattle (camels, cows, sheep, and
goats), silver,
gold, dates, raisins, wheat, and barley.

It should be noted however that although Zakat is not
mandatory on other
items the same way that Khumus is, to the Shi'a it is still
encouraged
(mustahab) to give out Zakat on things other than the above
mentioned items
- in a similar way to how Sunnis apply Zakat (i.
e.
2.
5%).

The details on Zakat are not as complicated as the Khums, but
there are
still details to be addressed.

For example, was
the land from whence the
wheat was harvested, irrigated by rain water or regular
water? In
addition, there is a minimum bracket for the number of cattle
that has to
be met for the Zakat to be applicable.

If you
want details, let me know, I
will be more than happy to provide them.

There is also the Zakat al-Fitr, which is paid on the first
day after the
month of fasting, Ramadan, ends.

In conclusion, I appeal to your sense of justice,
objectivity, and fear of
Allah (SWT) to recognize that the Shia are THE followers of
Islam as it
should be implemented.

The Sunni legists have
changed many aspects of the
religion of Allah (SWT), and I am NOT here to trash them; but
be fair and
judge the Shia objectively.

Don't we follow the
Quran better than ANYbody
else? Don't we follow the custom of the Prophet (PBUH&HF)
to the letter?

Don't we use reason to explain our belief, rather than being
blind
followers? Don't we.

Wassalam.