The Qur’an says...

The Qur’an says: Take alms from their wealth in order to purify and sanctify them. (9:103) Khums: Shi’a Muslims also believe in another obligator y tax, called khums. In Arabic Khums literally means one fifth. It is a 20% tax on the excess profit that a person annually makes. At the end of one’s financial year, one pays 20% of all one’s earnings after deduction of house- hold and commercial expenses.

[^5]The obligation to pay Khums has been mentioned in the Qur’an: And know that whatever profit you may attain, one fifth of it is assigned to God and the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the Messenger] and the orphans, the destitute, and the wayfarer, if you have believed in God and that which We sent down to our servant [Muhammad]. (8:41) Sunni Muslims usually believe that the verse only refers to…