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What's the difference between the viewpoint of Shia and Sunni about Khums? And why?

Although the verse from which the rule of Khums is clear, the idea of Shia and Sunni about this rule is completely different.

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The verse of Khums is:

"And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met. And Allah , over all things, is competent."(Surat Al-'Anfāl,verse41)

Difference between the viewpoint of Shia and Sunni about Khums comes from their different interpretation.

The differences are:

  1. In the Sunni view Khums is just for spoils of war but in the Shia view. It is an ongoing subject and isn't specific to war.

  2. The portion of Khums usage. Shias divide khums in 6 parts but Sunnis divide them in 5. Shias divide them to 6 for

    1. Allah
    2. The Messenger
    3. And for [his] near relatives
    4. The orphans
    5. The needy
    6. The [stranded] traveler

    But the Sunni view says that the name of Allah in the said verse is for respect and doesn't need any share, so they divide Khums among other 5 groups except Allah.

  3. Khums usage. Sunni pay share of Prophet to

    1. Current Caliph
    2. Prophet's relatives
    3. Orphans
    4. The needy
    5. The [stranded] travelers

    But Shia pay 3 share (share of Allah, Prophet and his relatives) for public benefits and pay other 3 share for orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler.

  4. Value of khums. Shias count it as one of 10 Furoo-e-deen but Sunnis count it as Furoo-e-Jahad. So value of khums in Shia view is much more than Sunni value for khums.

Reference in Persian: tahoor encyclopedia

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I'll mention both views (Shia and Sunni) in this answer:

Both the Shia and Sunni agree that the verse 41 in Surah al-Anfal orders Muslims to give fifth of the goods to whoever mentioned in this verse:

And know that anything you obtain of war booty - then indeed, for Allah is one fifth of it and for the Messenger and for [his] near relatives and the orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler, if you have believed in Allah and in that which We sent down to Our Servant on the day of criterion - the day when the two armies met. And Allah, over all things, is competent.

Shia

  1. Shia believe that the khumus should be taken from every adult working Muslim who has income/source of money after 1 year from receiving that revenue/salary (e.g.: salary after a year, rent after a year, revenue from trade etc...) 4/5 belongs to the working adult and 1/5 goes to others (mentioned below).

  2. Khumus can be taken from these 7 materials:

    • Jewelries (gold, iron, etc...)
    • Treasure (money buried under earth)
    • Treasure taken from under the sea
    • Money that is mixed with haram money (Khumus makes it halal)
    • Excess menu from any source (someone donated money and you don't need it, Job benefits which you don't use, etc...)
    • Dhimmi buys a land from a Muslim, then that dhimmi should pay the khumus of the land.

  3. Khumus should be paid to two main categories:

    • Allah, His prophet, and to the Imam: Used for anything the Imam wants
    • The orphans, the needy, and the [stranded] traveler of Bani Hashim only (Sayyids). and no one is allowed to take/share their khumus.

Sunni

  1. Sunni believe that Khumus should be received from a Muslim soldier who has taken some goods as war booty.

  2. Khumus is taken from any war booty found in the battle (e.g.: Horse, Armor, sword, etc...)

  3. Khumus should be paid just as Allah mentioned in the verse:(4/5 goes to that soldier and 1/5 is distributed equally between those mentioned in the ayah)

    • Allah: Scholars differed on this, Some said should be used for Ka'aba(cleaning and repairing), and others said that Allah and the prophet receive one portion.
    • Prophet: Difference here would be, who should take the portion of the prophet after his death? some said it should be given to the caliph to use for helping the Muslims, some said it should be given to him to use it to help the Islamic state, others said it should be given to those mentioned in the verse(relative, needy, poor) and others said it should be given to his relatives only. While the last group said it should be given to help the soldiers which is the view of Abu baker, Omar, Ali, and majority of scholars.
    • His relative: Banu Hashim and Banu Mutalib
    • Orphans: Differed on whether the rich should be given or not.
    • Needy
    • Traveller
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