Religion

Discharging mazālim or Radd al-mazālim (Arabic: رد المظالم) refers to discharge of properties and debts which a person is supposed to return. In Shia hadiths, discharging mazalim is mentioned among the conditions of acceptance of repentance by God. According to the fatwa of Shia jurists, discharging mazalim is obligatory. In discharging mazalim, properties with unknown owner should be given as charity to poor people, by the permission of the marja’. In jurisprudence references, discharging mazalim has been mentioned in discussions regarding khums, enjoining good and prohibiting the evil, rulings regarding a dead person, will and usurpation.

Different Definitions

Discharging mazalim refers to discharge of properties and debts which a person is supposed to return. However, different definitions have been proposed regarding which the properties and debts are meant:

Asad Allah Shushtari, among the scholars of 13th/19th century, wrote that, “mazalim is the plural form of mazlama meaning properties and debts of others upon a person to return; such as a property acquired through usurpation or theft. Nasir Makarim Shirazi considers mazalim as forbidden properties which are with a person, and he does not know the owner of them.”

According to Aqa Muhammad Ali Kirmanshahi, son of Wahid al-Bihbahani, mazalim are those properties and debts mixed with a person’s properties and neither their measure, nor their owner is known. Sayyid Ali Sistani defined mazalim as properties which a person has caused their loss or has acquired out of injustice, whether or not their owner is known.

In definition of Lutf Allah Safi Gulpayigani, mazalim refer to properties which are specified, but their owner is unknown.

Significance in Hadiths and Jurisprudence

In Shia hadiths, discharging mazalim is mentioned among the conditions of acceptance of repentance by God and abandoning it is considered among the sins which bring about afflictions. In jurisprudence references, discharging mazalim has been mentioned in discussions regarding khums, enjoining good and prohibiting the evil, rulings regarding a dead person, will and usurpation.

Religious Ruling

Shi’a jurists consider discharging mazalim obligatory, the same as khums and zakat. Some jurists including Muhammad Ishaq Fayyad have considered it immediate obligatory; but, some others including Imam Khomeini said that if the person sees the signs of [imminent] death in himself, he should immediately discharge himself of mazalim.

Method

According to marja’s, if there is any property with the person, the owner of which is unknown or inaccessible, the person should get permission from the religious authority and give that property or its price (if it has been lost) to poor people as charity. The fatwa of some marja’s including Safi Gulpayigani is that it should be given only to those who are not Sayyid.

There is no consensus among jurists regarding the ruling for the case when the owner is found after giving the property or its price as charity. According to Imam Khomeini’s view, the obligatory precaution requires that the person pays its price to the owner; but, according to Ayatullah al-Khoei’s opinion, it is not necessary to give the owner anything.

According to the fatwa of marja’s, if the amount of property is not known, the person should make sulh with the owner; meaning that they achieve each other’s consent; but, if the owner does not give consent, only the price the person is definite of being in charge should be paid. However, recommended precaution requires to pay more.

Sharī’a payments or al-wujūhāt al-shar’īyya (Arabic: الوجوهات الشرعية) are what religiously accountable (mukallaf) persons ought to pay because of shari’a rulings and obligations. This is a commonsensical term, which does not appear in original religious texts. Shari’a payments include khums, zakat, expiation, radd al-mazalim (returning unfairly earned or seized money and property), nadhr, obligatory and recommended Sadaqa (alms), anfal, and endowments (mawqufat). According to some people, certain Shari’a payments, such as khums and zakat, must be paid to the shari’a ruler or his representative.

The Notion

The term, “wujuhat”, is a plural form of “wajh” which means money. The term, “al-wujuhat al-shar’iyya” (Shari’a payments), has been vaguely used by Muslim jurists in divergent contexts with regard to a variety of jurisprudential issues. It is argued that “al-wujuhat al-shar’iyya” is not jurisprudential jargon, because it was not defined and explicated by jurists. Instead, it is a commonsensical term; that is, a term commonly used by people. The commonsensical notion, it is said, refers to money paid by religiously accountable persons because of Shari’a rulings and decrees.

The term, “al-wujuhat al-shar’iyya”, was restricted by a number of authors to obligatory Shari’a payments only, while others generalize it to any religious incomes, although, in their accounts of religious incomes, they have only referred to khums and zakat.

Cases of Shari’a Payments

In his special letter of attorney to Mahdi Bihbahani for receiving Shari’a payments, Muhammad Husayn Na’ini counts the following as Shari’a payments: the Imam’s right, property with unknown ownership, zakat, nadhr, all kinds of charity, expiation, and payments for worship.

Shiite authorities have been quoted as considering Shari’a payments to include khums, zakat, as well as obligatory and recommended alms. Others include khums, zakat, nadhr, and charity in general within Shari’a payments. Endowments and financial gifts have also been included by others within Shari’a payments. Anfal have also been regarded as Shari’a payments by some people.

Some scholars believe that Shari’a payments include the following cases:

1- Fidya (ransom): a penalty for religiously accountable people when they are not able to do some of their religious obligations. According to many jurists, if a person is not able to fast in the month of Ramadan, then he or she must pay fidya, which consists in one mudd (= 3/4 kg) of food donated to people in need.

2- Kaffara: a penalty for religiously accountable people when they do a forbidden action or intentionally abandoning an obligation, such as not fasting, murdering, breaking one’s oath, zihar, and so on.

3- Kharaj (tax): a financial duty imposed by an Islamic government on certain lands.

4- Khums: a financial obligation of paying one-fifth of one’s annual incomes, imposed on war booties, treasures found, mines, things found under the water, interests from business, property in which Halal and Haram are mixed, and a land purchased by a Dhimmi from a Muslim.

5- Zakat: a financial duty imposed on certain amounts of certain capitals.

6- Zakat al-fitra: money or goods that must be paid or donated by religiously accountable people at the evening of the Eve of Eid al-Fitr every year.

7- Jizya: an obligatory payment by some Dhimmis to the Islamic government.

8- ‘Ushr: money received from non-Muslim businesspeople for doing business in Islamic territories.

To Whom Must Sharia Payments be Made?

According to some people, in the Shiite view, as opposed to the Sunni view, it is not legitimate for everyone to manipulate Shari’a payments. In Sunni communities, every ruler with any moral or cognitive characteristics can manipulate such payments in virtue of being an Islamic ruler. Thus, Shari’a payments count as governmental budgets in fact.

However, Shiite scholars believe that only the Shari’a-Legislator and His legitimate representatives can manipulate Shari’a payments. During the presence of an Imam, he is the only person who has the right to manipulate such payments, and during his occultation, only qualified and just jurists are permitted to manipulate Shari’a payments.

Imām’s Share or Sahm al-Imām (Arabic: سَهْم الإمام) is a portion of khums belonging to God, the Prophet (s) and the Imam (a)^[1][2]

Shiite jurists take three (God, the Prophet (s), and his close relatives) out of the six cases of the consumption of the khums to the Imam (a), referring to it as Imam’s share.^[3] The Imam’s share is also referred to as God’s share, the Prophet’s share, and relatives’ share.^[4]

During the Occultation of the Imam (a), the Imam’s share is received by Shiite authorities and is spent for the propagation and reinforcement of Islam.^[5] Some Shiite jurists believe that Imam’s share during the Occultation should be spent in cases where the marja’ thinks or knows that the Imam (a) would spend were he present, such as Islamic seminaries, construction of mosques, libraries, schools, and helping people in need.^[6] However, there are other views about Imam’s share during the Occultation as well, such as the cancellation of its obligation, the permissibility of spending it for the Shi’as, paying it directly to sayyids in need, paying it as charity, burying it, putting it aside until the Imam (a) reappears. After citing all these views, Ayatollah Makarim comments that the view of the majority of recent and contemporary scholars is that the marja’ should spend it in cases where he thinks the Imam (a) is pleased to be spent.

Sahm al-sādat or Share of Sayyids (Arabic: سهم السادات) is a part of khums which is given to needy sayyids (descendants of Banu Hashim).

Shi’a jurists refer to the verse of khums^[1] and consider a part of khums belonging to needy sayyids which is known as “sahm al-sadat”. They interpret “orphans”, “the needy” and “the traveler” in this verse, such people in descendants of Banu Hashim.^[2]

According to Muhammad Hasan al-Najafi, the author of Jawahir al-kalam, most Shi’a jurists believe that “sahm sadat” only belongs to those whose lineage reach Hashim b. ‘Abd Manaf from their father’s side and a person whose mother is sayyid will not have sahm sadat.^[3]

There is no agreement about the manner of paying sahm al-sadat. Most marja’s believe that it should be given to the religious authority or marja’ or pay to needy sayyids with his permission; however, some others do not consider the permission of mujtahid, a reqirement and believe that it can be given directly to needy sayyids.^[4]

The philosophy behind dedication of a share of khums to sayyids is considered to be a compensation for the prohibition of paying charity for non-sayyids to them.