The word · Worship
خُمْس
Khums
A fifth of certain wealth; in Sunni law on spoils and treasure, in Shia practice a yearly payment.
Also written · Khoms · Kums · Khumus · one fifth · Khums payment · Sahm al-imam · Khumus tax
The meaning
What Khums means in Islam
The Qur'an assigns a fifth of the spoils of war to named recipients, and Sunni schools extend this to rikaz, wealth found buried in the ground. Twelver Shia jurisprudence reads the verse far more broadly, as a fifth of a person's yearly surplus income, paid through a marja' and divided between the share of the Imam and the descendants of the Prophet. A reader meeting the word in a Shia context is meeting this second meaning.
Evidence · Qur’an · Stated directly in the Qur’an
Read beside it
Words that sit beside it
- ZakatThe yearly obligatory share of qualifying wealth, normally 2.5 percent, given to those entitled to it.زَكاة
- NisabThe minimum amount of wealth a person must hold before zakat becomes due on it.نِصاب
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