Ahmad, and it is the soundest of these views. It is supported by the Quran and the sunnah, as we have explained at length elsewhere.

The fay’ and the one-fifth share are therefore allocated to the same recipients. Accordingly, both the one-fifth share and the stipends were distributed through Umar’s register of stipends.

As for the Rāfidīs’ claim that one-fifth of the Muslims’ earnings must be taken from them and given to whomever they regard as the representative of the infallible Imam, or to someone else, no Companion ever held this view—neither Alī nor anyone else—nor did any of those who faithfully followed them, or any of the Prophet’s relatives, whether from Banū Hāshim or otherwise.

Anyone who attributes this view to Alī or to scholars of his household—such as al-Hasan, al-Husayn, Alī ibn al-Husayn, Abū Jafar al-Bāqir, or Jafar ibn Muhammad—has fabricated a lie against them. It contradicts the mass-transmitted accounts of Alī’s conduct—may Allah be pleased with him. He held the caliphate for four years and part of a fifth, yet took nothing from the Muslims’ wealth. Indeed, no one-fifth share was ever distributed during his rule. As for the Muslims, neither he nor anyone else levied one-fifth of their wealth. As for the disbelievers, whenever wealth (1) was taken from them as spoils, one-fifth of it was set aside in accordance with the Quran and the sunnah. During his reign, however, the Muslims could not devote themselves to fighting the disbelievers because of the turmoil and dissension that had arisen among them.

It is likewise known as a matter of necessity that the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—did not levy one-fifth of the Muslims’ wealth, nor did he ever demand from anyone (2) among the Muslims one-fifth of