ABSTRACT
In Shi'ism the imam is pivotal to every doctrinal issue. According to ancient Shi'i law, religious magistrates are to be appointed personally by the imam. They are the only Islamic judicial authorities entitled to preside over the religious courts and to administer legal punishments. In the 7th/13th century, Muhaqqiq Hilli was the first to argue that the continuation of the occultation and the impossibility of depositing tax monies until the return of the Hidden Imam fully justified the clerics' collection of both shares of the khums as well as the collection of the legal alms. Almost to a man, the Usuli jurists agreed that the mujtahid had the authority to levy this religious tax on revenues and to use it in the best interests of the faithful and the community. According to ancient law, the imam, and anyone explicitly designated by him, holds the right to organize the collection and distribution of religious taxes.
