Plz tell me why is insurance haram?
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:
assalamoalaikum
plz tell me why is insurance haram? and what are the ways to avoid it. let me
tell you my case, and please advice me what should i do. i live in the
i injured my knees so bad that i needed to undergo surgery. my
expenses were around 20,000$ and all of them were covered by my insurance
company. my knee still requires treatment and i might need another surgery. i
dont have the money to take care of myself and the best and the least expensive
way to cover my medical costs is to have health insurance. please advice. is
car insurance also haram??
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Answer:
Car and health 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 no one (no idol, no person,
no grave, no prophet, no
imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
Your
Question: plz tell me why is insurance haram?
Dear and Beloved Brother, the concept of
‘insurance’ per say in its essence is not prohibited in Islam; it is the ‘riba’
or interest element, which is the financial back-bone of modern day
conventional insurance, is what has been declared haraam and absolutely
prohibited in Islam.
At the times of the Prophet Mohamed (saws) and the
Rightly Guided Khalifahs, there was a system of ‘Bayt-ul-Maal’ or ‘central
treasury’ of the Islamic State, which if needed, would play the role of being
the insurers of its citizens….and when one amongst the citizens was burdened
with a calamity or necessity which was beyond their means, the leader of the
believers had the authority to relieve the person of his burdens and compensate
the loss amount from the ‘bayt-ul-maal’.
Thus insurance in its essence is not what is
prohibited in Islam, it is the interest element involved in modern conventional
insurance which is deemed absolutely forbidden in Islam. Alhamdolillah, today there are many Islamic
Insurance companies in many Muslim Nations who provide insurance in various
categories in accordance with Shariah and interest-free principles.
Your
Statements: according to the law, its compulusry for all students to keep
medical insurance. is car insurance also haram??
In places where it is mandatory by law to take
health or car or any other type of insurance, the scholars and jurists in Islam
are of the opinion that the believers who have no other legal option but to
fulfill the requirements of the law, will at least have an excuse in the Court
of Allah Subhanah for taking out the required insurance.
The majority of the scholars and jurists are of the
opinion that if one knows for sure that the source of the funds received from
the insurance company are interest-based, and so fears Allah that he wants
absolutely nothing to do with ‘riba’ or interest, he always has the option of
not raising any claims for his medical treatment or car accidents from the
insurance companies; or at the very most, raise a claim equivalent only to what
he has contributed towards the premium paid.
That would indeed be the safest and purest route, and the person will
not be held accountable for engaging or benefiting from anything that has
clearly been declared as forbidden in Islam.
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
Wister