Chapter on Khums and Spoils of War (Ghanaim)

Ali ibn Mahziyar said: Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Hamdani wrote to him: Ali (ibn Mahziyar) read to me your father's (Imam al-Jawad عليه السلام) letter concerning what He عليه السلام had made obligatory upon the owners of estates: "That He (Imam al-Jawad عليه السلام) made obligatory upon them half of one-sixth after the expenses (maunah), and that there is not upon one whose estate does not cover his expenses half of one-sixth, nor anything other than that." So those before us differed concerning that and said: “The fifth is obligatory upon estates after the expenses, meaning the expenses of the estate and its land-tax, not the expenses of the man and his dependants.” Imam al-Hadi عليه السلام wrote, and Ali ibn Mahziyar read it: "Upon him is the fifth (khums) after his expenses, the expenses of his dependants, and after the tax of the ruler."