Preference in Paying Khums and Zakat
Question :

Is it permissible for me to give preference to practicing believers especially men having a beard and women observing hijab in giving alms, khums, zakat?

Answer :

It is not permissible to pay such financial obligations to the consumer of wine and it is permissible to do so to sinners if they are needy. Based on compulsory precaution, it is not permissible to pay the committer of major sins which are worse than consuming wine, such as not performing the prayers.

Paying the Khums
Question :

I just began to pay khums this year, but I have been a Muslim for over 5 years. How do I calculate how much khums to pay if I do not know how much money I made in the past 5 years?

Answer :

May Allah accept from you this sincere intention in upholding His teachings and obligations.
Khums is a divinely-prescribed obligation. It is the fifth of the yearly income after deducting expenses. It can be calculated as a fifth of all the monies that is in one’s possession plus the fifth of the worth of the items that were unused during the year.
This khums amount is divided into two equal amounts:
The first one is the share of Sayyids. It should be spent on needy people from the clan of Hashim, the great-grandfather of the Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny).
The second one is the share of the Imam (peace be upon him). It should be given to the religious Adil Marji who is able to spend it in accordance to what pleases the twelfth Imam (peace be upon him).

The Share of The Imam
Question :

On what can we spend the Share of the Imam (peace be upon him) from Khums?

Answer :

One should refer to the Marji or his agents for that.

Giving the Share of the Imam to the Brother
Question :

If a person is poor can we give the share of the Imam from the Khums to his brother?

Answer :

It is permissible to spend the Share of the Imam (Sahmul-Imam) to fulfill the necessities of destitute believers, after referring to the Marji or his agents.

The Share of Sayyids
Question :

Is it permissible to give the share of Sayyids to my grandmother who is a Hashemite?

Answer :

It is not permissible to pay khums to poor people if their sustenance is the responsibility of the khums payer. It is obligatory for the duty-bound person to support his grandparents based on compulsory precaution. Therefore, if the Sayyid’s share of the khums is given to the sustenance of your grandmother, then it is not sufficient as khums payment. But if what your give her is to pay off her debt then it is permissible.

Using the Share of the Imam
Question :

Can I use share of the Imam (peace be upon him) for the maintenance and/or the construction of a Hussainiya which is run by my family?

Answer :

Using the share of Imam (peace be upon him) from the khums is not permissible without referring to the Marji’ or his appointed agent.

How to know if Someone is a Sayyid
Question :

What are the ways to know if someone is a Sayyid? And what are the consequences in the Islamic sharia of being a Sayyid?

Answer :

Sayyids are the descendants of Hashim bin Abd Munaf. Such linage is proven by any of three ways: (i) knowing it, (ii) by the witness of two adil people, or (iii) by it being widely-known that leads to being confident about it.
The religious effects of being a Sayyid are the eligibility to collect the Sayyid’s share from the khums in the case of poverty, and the prohibition to collect the zakat from a non-Sayyid.

Khums from Russia
Question :

Does His Eminence give his followers in Russia the general right to use Sahm-ul-Imam on their own accord?

Answer :

There is no general permission to the believers, whether they are in Russia or not, to spend the share of the Imam (peace be upon him) without the consent of the office of his Eminence or the scholars that are proven to be his agents.

Acting on Precuation
Question :

If a person acts on precaution rather than following one particular marji, to whom should he pay khums?

Answer :

He should give the khums to the Marji – or the Marji’s agent – who he trusts to spend it in the way mandated by the Sharia.

Giving Khums to More than One Mujtahid
Question :

Is it obligatory to hand over my khums to my Marji only or I can distribute it among more than one Mujtahid?

Answer :

You should consult with your Marji to know his edict with regards to this issue.

The Share of Sayyids
Question :

Is it permissible for me, without the consent of the Marji, to give khums to my Sayyid relatives who are very poor?

Answer :

The share of Sayyids from the khums is payable to the needy Sayyid believers. His Eminence, the Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Al-Hakeem (may Allah prolong his life) has given his permission to spend the said share on the needy Sayyids.
Orphans and needy people who are not Sayyid are not to be given from the share of Sayyids.
The share of the Imam (peace be upon him) from the khums is to be given to the Marji who you follow via his network of appointed agents or to be spent with his permission.