Shaving the Beard: Ruling on Earnings from Shaving Beards and Khums on Mixed Income

Practical Laws of Islam as per the teachings of Imam Khamenei

Shaving the Beard: Ruling on Earnings from Shaving Beards and Khums on Mixed Income

English:

Question #1412:

Is the money the barber charges for shaving a beard ḥarām? Assuming that it is so and that this money is mixed with ḥalāl money, is it incumbent on the person concerned to pay khums on it twice?

Answer #1412:

As per caution, it is ḥarām to receive any money for shaving a beard. If the amount of illicit money is known, it should be returned to its original owner — if he is known — or a settlement should be reached with him. If the owner is not known — even as a person among a small group of people — it is incumbent on recipient to give it to the poor in charity. If the amount of ḥarām money is not known but the owner is, it is obligatory on the person to reach a settlement, in any way possible, with the original owner.

Should neither the amount nor the owner be known, he has to purify his money from what is ḥarām by paying the khums. One should pay the khums of the left over money if it was an income and is not spent up to the end of the khums year for the yearly expenses.

-Imam Khamenei, Practical Laws of Islam, Importance and Conditions of Shaving the Beard