💥 Proponents of insurance (bīmah or insurance) narrate its historical background as follows: In the year 1400 CE, a merchant in Italy lost his ship at sea, leaving him destitute. Other merchants collaborated and collected funds to help him regain his footing. Recognizing the potential for such incidents in the future, the merchants decided to contribute a fixed amount monthly or annually, as convenient, to create a fund to mitigate the losses from such accidents and risks.
💥 This background clearly exemplifies the narrow-mindedness of non-Muslims!
🌟 Islam, in contrast, has introduced a superior system for such contingencies, known as ṣadaqah (charity).
🌙 The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “A man afflicted by a calamity that wipes out his wealth is permitted to seek help until he achieves financial stability.” [Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 1044]
💨 Allah, the Exalted, has designated such individuals as ghārimīn (those in debt) and entitled them to a share of zakāh funds. [Sūrat at-Tawbah: 60]
🎯 Islam mandates that affluent Muslims set aside a specified portion of their wealth annually as zakāh (obligatory charity).
🎯 Additionally, Muslims are encouraged to give voluntary charity (ṣadaqāt nafliyyah) beyond obligatory contributions (zakāh, ‘ushr, fitrānah, etc.) for the sake of Allah.
🎯 Islam does not restrict charity to only those who contribute; rather, anyone who accepts Islam and becomes eligible for charity may rightfully receive it.
💥 In contrast to Islam’s beautiful system of zakāh and charity, the insurance system is profoundly flawed and harmful.
💨 Various insurance companies lure naive people with false promises and deceptive allurements, ensnaring them in their schemes.
💨 Similarly, many “wise” leaders of large corporations fall prey to the persuasive tactics of these cunning entities and mandate insurance for all their employees.
⭐ From a Shar‘ī perspective, insurance—whether cloaked under the appealing term takāful (mutual cooperation) as a pretext to deem it permissible—is a composite of several grave wrongs, foremost among them being ribā (usury), qimār (gambling), and gharar (deceptive uncertainty).
☄ Whether it is life insurance, medical insurance, property insurance, or vehicle insurance, all forms of insurance contain these elements.
☄ Moreover, insurance weakens the Muslim’s belief in divine predestination (‘aqīdah al-qadr).
☄ It also disrupts the Islamic system of inheritance, as insurance payouts are distributed to designated nominees rather than rightful heirs according to Sharī‘ah.
☀ The bonuses offered under insurance are a form of ribā (usury), and the gharar (deceptive uncertainty) inherent in it—since neither the policyholder knows how much they will pay nor the company knows what it will receive—is unequivocally forbidden. Similarly, the aḍrār (causing harm) in insurance is impermissible.
🎯 If a person wishes to discontinue an insurance policy, the company often confiscates up to 40% of their contributions.
🎯 In some cases, the insured individual’s own heirs may even conspire to kill them to quickly claim a large payout with minimal loss.
🔥 Due to these grave violations, insurance is clearly forbidden (ḥarām) and impermissible from a Shar‘ī perspective.
🍃 Therefore, never opt for insurance. If a company insists on insurance as a condition of employment, steer clear of it and seek Allah’s bounty elsewhere.
(Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq Tahir (Hafidhahullah), copied from his Telegram channel.)
Note:
Shaykh Yoosuf ash-Shubayli (may Allah preserve him) said:
If the law of the land in which a person lives requires him to have auto insurance, otherwise he is regarded as breaking the law, then it is permissible to take out insurance in this case, because there is a need that requires doing so.
But he must understand that if the law requires him to take out third-party insurance only, or a lower level than that, then it is not permissible for him to do more than that, because anything more than that is not dictated by need, and one of the established principles of sharee‘ah is that need should be properly estimated. End quote.
And Allah knows best.
(07/Jumada al-awwal/1437 , 16/February/2016, islamqa.info, #239647)
Saheehus-Seerah 