The Imam did not approve his request and wrote: ".

The Imam did not approve his request and wrote: "...And the khums is a help to us in [promotion of] our religion, [upliftment of] our family, and our followers...Do not deprive yourselves of our prayers as long as you can because paying [the khums] is the key to sustenance, the forgiveness for your sins...Was-salam."[^3] Muhammad bin Ja`far al-Asadi wrote to Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.).

Imam al-Mahdi (a.s.) answered, "As for what you have asked about the issue of a person using our property without our permission, then he should know that whosoever does so is cursed and [on the day of judgement] we will be his opponent...And whosoever devours anything from our property [without permission], he is actually devouring fire and will surely reach the Hell."[^4] So khums was always wajib and collected by the Imams directly or through their wakils.

(b) During the Ghaybat of the Imam: At the present time, our Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi (upon whom be him), is in occultation; and he has not even appointed anyone as his special agent. So what should be done with his share of khums? All `ulama' of our time are unanimous in saying that during the period of occultation, the share of the Present Imam must be used for the causes with which the Imam would agree. They also believe that the best persons to know such causes are the mujtahids.

Therefore, according to all our present `ulama', sihmu 'l-Imam must be handed over to the most learned and trustworthy mujtahid or be used in the way authorized by such a mujtahid. The condition of religious knowledge and trustworthiness are important to guarantee the right use of sihmu 'l-Imam. It is an individual's responsibility to transfer the sihmu 'l-Imam to the mujtahid.

If it is given to the representative of the mujtahid, then the responsibility will shift from the khums-payer to the representative.

(For example, if the representative looses the money before it reached the mujtahid, then the khums-payer is no longer responsible for that.) If a trustworthy person who is not a representative of the mujtahid agrees to take the sihmu 'l-Imam to the mujtahid, then, in case of being lost, the responsibility will not shift from the khums-payer to that person: either the messenger should make up the loss or the khums-payer has to pay again.

In the latter case, the khums-payer may request the mujtahid to exempt him for that year. 2. How Is The Sihmu 'l-Imam Used?