Module 7E-11 Higher level

Sunni Muslims do not generally pay khums. They pay zakah as 2.5% of their annual savings to charitable causes. Savings are calculated according to cash in hand, in bank accounts, shares, pensions, gold, and silver.

In Shi‘a fiqh, zakah is extremely important, but it is not applicable to savings; rather, zakah applies to items such as wheat, barley, and dates, livestock, and gold and silver with certain conditions. Zakat al-fitrah is a type of zakah which is wajib on all Shi‘as to pay at the culmination of the month of Ramadan. The zakat al-fitrah is three kilogrammes of one’s staple food, such as wheat or barley or dates, or its monetary equivalent.

Outline two similarities and two differences between khums and the concept of zakah amongst Sunni Muslims.