About khums

Many Shia scholars have devided Khums into two parts, For Imam and For Sadat (poor Sadat, Orphan Sadat and etc).

The question is why the quota of Imam is 50 percent?

In Quran Allah has mentioned 6 items of usage for Khums. If we consider that the quota of each of them is equal and if we suppose that the quota of Allah and prophet,pbuh, is for Imam, then, Imam owns only one third of Khums. Not 50!

Imam al-Baqir,a.s., also says that the quota of Allah and prophet,pbuh, is for him(Imam al-ma'soom) and never says 50 percent is for Imam al-ma'soom.

There is a prescribed portion in our wealth which needs to be paid out to the deserving ones. This amount needs to be calculated and paid at regular intervals of time. A certain portion of your wealth that you have saved after expenses does not belong to you. It belongs to Allah and has to be paid to the categories of people mentioned by Allah. The link to below post reviews the related Ayas for calculation and payment of this amount as below;

Zakat/Charity ratio in Quran

AlkitabAdvocate said:

There is a prescribed portion in our wealth which needs to be paid out to the deserving ones. This amount needs to be calculated and paid at regular intervals of time. A certain portion of your wealth that you have saved after expenses does not belong to you. It belongs to Allah and has to be paid to the categories of people mentioned by Allah. The link to below post reviews the related Ayas for calculation and payment of this amount as below;

Zakat/Charity ratio in Quran

Click to expand...

Salam brother,
Thanks. I have found my answer in Tafsir al-mizan by Taba Tabaei. He clearly explains the portion dedications.

AlkitabAdvocate said:

There is a prescribed portion in our wealth which needs to be paid out to the deserving ones. This amount needs to be calculated and paid at regular intervals of time. A certain portion of your wealth that you have saved after expenses does not belong to you. It belongs to Allah and has to be paid to the categories of people mentioned by Allah. The link to below post reviews the related Ayas for calculation and payment of this amount as below;

Zakat/Charity ratio in Quran

Click to expand...

Salamun Alaykum brother.

Thank you for sharing the link.

I do not know how much you know about Arabic, but one of the points which has not been mentioned in the provided link is this that in the verse 8:41, the "ال" (Al) in Al-Qurba, Al-Yatama, Al-Masaakeen and Al-Sabil is the alternative for the object pronouns ه (i.e., his) and هم (i.e., their) which refer to Allah, Prophet Muhammad (s), and his relatives and descendants. So, this is the meaning of the verse: ... لله خمسه ولرسوله و لذي قرباه ويتماهم ومساكينهم وأبناء سبيلهم ... :

"Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and His Messenger, to his close relatives and to thier orphans, needy and destitute travellers, if you believe in God and the revelation We sent down to Our servant on the Decisive Day, the day when the two forces met. God has power over all things."

Salam brother,
Thanks for your comment. I am unaware of 'Al' usage as a pronoun. If there is some reference information on it, will appreciate if you could share it. Has any translator done this translation?

Thanks

Salam bro.

At-Tabari who is among the most eminent Sunni Mofassireen, wrote in his Tafsir book:

القول في تأويل قوله : وَكَتَبْنَا لَهُ فِي الأَلْوَاحِ مِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مَوْعِظَةً وَتَفْصِيلا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ
قال أبو جعفر: يقول تعالى ذكره: وكتبنا لموسى في ألواحه.
* * *
وأدخلت الألف واللام في " الألواح " بدلا من الإضافة, كما قال الشاعر:
والأحْلامُ غَيْرُ عَوَازِب
وكما قال جل ثناؤه: فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ هِيَ الْمَأْوَى ، [سورة النازعات: 41]، يعني: هي مأواه.

He says about the 'ال/Al' that is in Al-Alwah (الالواح) and Al-Ma'wa (المأوى) which are in the 7:145 and 79:41 verses, respectively, that the 'ال/Al' is as an alternative for the objective pronoun ه (him), so Al-Alwah means Alwahihi (i.e., his Tablets), and Al-Ma'wa means Ma'waho (i.e., his place).

So, 'Al' has been used as an alternative for object pronouns in Quran.

About the verse which is about Khoms, At-Tabari and other eminent Sunni Mufassireen has narrated a Hadith from Ali ibn Al-Husain (as) and Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali who were from the descendants of Prophet (s), that Khums is for them. Also, after the narrator asked Ali ibn Al-Husain (as) about واليتامى والمساكين وابن السبيل (Al-Yatama wa Al-Masakeen wa Ibn Al-Sabil/ their orphans, needy and destitute travellers), he (as) and Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Ali said that, they are our orphans, needy and destitute travellers.

Bests.

Salam Brother,
Thanks a lot for the information. In my humble opinion, Mr. Tabari in his Tafseer has expressed an opinion, which is not a grammar rule as we know that 'Al' in Arabic is a definite article and is not a pronoun. Also we know that we cannot replace all 'Al's' in Quran as pronouns. As Quran is Word of Allah and all words are chosen by Allah, therefore it is important to stick to the exact word by word translation. That is the reason none of the translators of Al-Quran wether Shia or Sunni, would translate the 'Al' in this Ayat as pronouns of 'Rasool'.
By the way Mr. Tabari happen to be the original writer of 'Satanic verses' i.e qissat al-gharaniq (Story of the Cranes),
(Satanic Verses - Wikipedia)
Therefore not very reliable as a muffasir.

Salam dear brother.

Brother, I thnik that there is a misunderstanding here. I did not say that Al is a pronoun. I said that according to Arabic Nahv, 'Al' can be used as an alternative for objective pronouns. Yes, Al is a definite article, but you should know that there is not any contradiction. For example, in Quran the term Al-Ma'wa (المأوى) has been used, and Al mades it a difinite noun and so that, it means his Ma'wa [Quran, 79: But as for him who is awed to stand before his Lord and restrains his soul from [following] desires, (40) his refuge will indeed be paradise. (41)]. according to Arabic, when an object pronoun is added to a noun, this pronoun makes it difinite. So, in this case Al-Ma'wa (المأوى) is equal to Ma'waho (مأواه) and Al has been used as an alternative for it. Because the object pronoun makes noun difinite, so using Al and object pronoun simultaneously is not allowed, i.e., Al-Ma'waho (المأواه) is incorrect.

Dear brother, here is the translations of different translators that have translated Zi Al-Qurba as the relatives of Prophet (s):

Daryabadi: And know that whatsoever ye obtain of spoils then verily unto Allah belongeth a fifth thereof and unto the apostle and unto his kindreds ...

Hilali and Khan: And know that whatever of war-booty that you may gain, verily one-fifth (1/5th) of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives [of the Messenger (Muhammad SAW)], ...

Mubarakpuri: And know that whatever of war booty that you may gain, verily, one-fifth of it is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger, and to the near relatives (of the Messenger),

Saheeh international: And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives ...

Wahiduddin Khan: Know that one-fifth of your battle gains belongs to God and the Messenger, to his close relatives ...

And all of Shia scholars who believe that Khums is only for the poor descendants of Prophet Muhammad (s). Also Hadhrat Ali ibn Al-Husain (as), who is our 4th Imam and one of the bests Tabeiins and Ahlul Bayt for Sunnis has said that the Ayat is about the relatives of Prophet (s).

Dear brother, Tabari is not the writer of the Satanic verses. He has indeed narrated this fabricated narration in his book. You shoul know that every scholar can make mistakes and this is one of the mistakes of Tabari. This does not reject his correct views about Arabic language and his correct Tafsirs.

Best wishes.