Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

life insurence is accordine shareeat ? pls explain it i have a life insurence and paid 10 years and have to pay 15 years more what should i do if not halal.

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Answer:

Life insurance

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Beloved brother in Islam, it is not the concept of insurance per se which is illegal or prohibited in Islam, but rather what is ‘haraam’ and forbidden in Islam is the ‘interest-based’ aspect which is utilized by the conventional insurance companies during their transactions when conducting the insurance business.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 274-276:

But those who devour ‘riba’ become like the one whom Shaitaan has bewitched and maddened by his touch. They have been condemned to this condition because they say, “Trade is just like ‘riba”, whereas Allah has made trade halaal and ‘riba’ haraam. Henceforth, if one abstains from taking ‘riba’ after receiving this admonition from his Lord, no legal action shall be taken against him regarding the ‘riba’ he had devoured before: his case shall ultimately go to Allah. But if one repeats the same crime even after this, he shall go to Hell, where he shall abide for ever! Allah deprives ‘riba’ of all blessing and develops charity, and Allah does not like an ungrateful, sinful person.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 278:

O Believers!, Fear Allah and give up that ‘riba’ which is still due to you, if you are true believers. But if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you by Allah and His Messenger!

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 4 Surah Nisa verse 161:

That they took ‘riba’, although they were forbidden. And that they devoured men’s substance wrongfully. We have prepared for those among them who reject faith a grievous punishment (of Hell Fire)!

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith 2829 Narrated by Ali ibn AbuTalib

Ali said he heard Allah's Messenger (saws) invoke the curse of Allah on those who took usury, those who paid it, those who recorded it, and those who refused to give sadaqah.

Almost all the conventional insurance companies transact their business based on interest, and it is this interest aspect which is deemed absolutely haraam in Islam. But Alhamdolillah, today there are several Islamic Insurance Institutions which provide insurance cover on various aspects based on Shariah principles, and there is absolutely no harm in seeking insurance from such ‘interest-free’ institutions.

The absolute majority of the scholars are of the opinion that ‘life-insurance’ is impermissible in Islam because unlike other calamities and eventualities which may or may not effect man, death is one thing that is Decreed for every son of Adam by their Lord and Creator, Allah Subhanah.

The scholars and jurists in Islam are of the opinion that non-life insurance policies are permissible, provided one transacts and documents such policies which honor the principles of Shariah, and do not involve ‘interest’; but the absolute majority of the good scholars and jurists in Islam are unanimous in their opinion that the concept of taking out a ‘life-insurance’ is impermissible. And Allah Alone Knows Best.

Your Question: pls explain it i have a life insurence and paid 10 years and have to pay 15 years more what should i do if not halal

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 278:

O Believers!, Fear Allah and give up that ‘riba’ which is still due to you, if you are true believers. But if you do not do so, then you are warned of the declaration of war against you by Allah and His Messenger!

Beloved brother, first and foremost you must turn to your Lord Most Gracious in ‘taubah’ and seek sincere forgiveness for the indulgence in ‘riba’; it is expected that you will find your Lord Forgiving and Merciful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 135-136:

Allah likes such good people very much, who, if ever they commit a base deed or wrong their own soul by the commission of a sin, remember Allah instantly, and ask for forgiveness from Him for their shortcomings. For who, but Allah, can forgive sins? (And Allah loves those) who do not knowingly persist in the wrongs they did. These will be rewarded with forgiveness from Allah, and with Gardens beneath which canals flow, and they will reside therein forever! How excellent is the reward of those who do good deeds!

If in your ignorance of the Laws of Shariah you happened to indulge in the abomination of ‘riba’ in your past by taking out a ‘life-insurance’ policy….you are well within your rights to claim and utilize the principal amount you might have paid; but under absolutely no circumstances would it be lawful or permissible for a believer who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day to consume even a cent more than the principal they might have paid, for that would constitute the consumption of ‘riba’.

Thus what you can and should do now is fear Allah your Lord, bring an immediate end to your participation in the life-insurance policy; keeping for yourself only the principal amount you have paid from your lawful earnings.

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan