Article:

“Zakat and Khums as Two Obligatory Alms in Islam” by Seyyed Mohammad Reza Mohaddeth

Based on Islamic narrations, one of the most important benefits of paying zakat or khums is that our property will be purified. Otherwise, not only the property is impure but also, since the property is mixed with the property of others (i.e., the Imam, the needy, and so forth), one is not allowed to use it in any way.