In Islam, khums (Arabic: خُمْس [xums]) is a tax on Muslims which obligates them to pay one-fifth (20%) of their acquired wealth from the spoils of war and, according to most Muslim jurists, other specified types of income, towards various designated beneficiaries. In Islamic legal terminology, "spoils of war" (al-ghanima) refers to property and wealth looted by the Muslim army after battling with non-Muslims or raiding them. Khums is the first Islamic tax, which was imposed in 2 AH/624 CE, after the Battle of Badr. It is separate from other Islamic taxes such as zakat and jizya. It is treated differently in Sunni and Shia Islam; key topics of debate include the types of wealth subject to khums, the methods of its collection and distribution, and the categories of recipients (asnāf).
Historically, one-fifth of the spoils of war (i.e., the khums) was placed at the disposal of the Islamic prophet Muhammad who distributed it among himself, his close relatives, orphans, the needy and travelers (the remaining four-fifth of the spoils went to soldiers of the Muslim army who attacked the non-Muslims). After Muhammad's death, disagreement arose about how to use the share once given to Muhammad and whether to continue to give his close relatives a share of the khums. Over time, Sunni Muslims came to believe that khums should be paid to the ruler of the Islamic state for the general good of the Muslims, maintaining the Muslim army, and for distribution between the orphans, the needy, travelers, and, according to some jurists, the descendants of Muhammad. For the Shia, the khums must be paid to the Imam of the time, as the rightful heir of Muhammad, who then distributes it among the orphans, the needy, the travelers and other descendants of Muhammad. As Twelver Shi'is believe the Imam of the time is currently in Occultation (ghayba), they pay khums to senior religious scholars (mujtahids) of their choice, who are considered representatives of this Hidden Imam, and these jurists then divide the khums into two portions: one for distribution among the indigent descendants of Muhammad and the other for any activities that they believe will be agreeable to the Hidden Imam.
