insurance against disability
Printed From: IslamiCity.com
Category: Religion - Islam
Forum Name: Basics of Islam
Forum Discription: Basics of Islam
URL: http://www.IslamiCity.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=8567
Printed Date: 21 May 2013 at 12:22am
Topic: insurance against disability
Posted By: rookaiya
Subject: insurance against disability
Date Posted: 13 February 2007 at 3:35am
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asalamu alaikum i need to know whether as a muslim, one is allowed to take insurance for cover against disability. e.g the insurance company offers you cover, if u are disabled in an accident, and can no longer work. so u are protecting yourself against something that might or might not occur. u are insuring your body if u lose an arm or a limb. they pay you out. you pay monthly premiums to the company. is this allowed Islamically? Please Advise
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Replies:
Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 14 February 2007 at 12:41am
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Bi ismillahir rahmanir rahim assalamu alaikum Islam's position on prevalent forms of insurance Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari  The imam at our mosque said today in his sermon that Insurance is 'haram'. His explanation was that you can't benefit / profit yourself against something that is hidden, i.e. isn't yet known. Could you please provide some detailed information on this?   In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful, What the Imam in your local Masjid said is correct in that Insurance is unlawful (haram) according to Shari’ah. The reason why all forms of commercial insurances prevalent in modern trade are unlawful and against the principles of Shari’ah, is that they have either an element of interest (riba) or chancing (qimar), both of which have been explicitly and sternly forbidden by Allah Most High in the Qur’an: “Those who swallow usury cannot rise up save as he ariseth whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: Trade is just like usury; whereas Allah permitteth trading and forbiddeth usury. He unto whom an admonition from his Lord cometh, and (he) refraineth (in obedience thereto), he shall keep (the profits of) that which is past, and his affair (henceforth) is with Allah. As for him who returneth (to usury) - Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein. Allah hath blighted usury and made almsgiving fruitful. Allah loveth not the impious and guilty. Lo! those who believe and do good works and establish worship and pay the poor-due, their reward is with their Lord and there shall no fear come upon them neither shall they grieve. 002.278 O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury, if ye are (in truth) believers. And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His messenger. And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest). Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged.” [Qur’an, 2.275-279] And, regarding chancing and gambling (qimar): “They question thee about strong drink and chancing. Say: In both is great sin, and (some) utility for men; but the sin of them is greater than their usefulness. And they ask thee what they ought to spend. Say: that which is superfluous. Thus Allah maketh plain to you (His) revelations, that haply ye may reflect.” [Qur’an, 2.219] And: “O ye who believe! Strong drink and chancing and idols and divining arrows are only an infamy of Satan's handiwork. Leave it aside in order that ye may succeed.” [Qur’an, 5.90] The Ruling Regarding Prevalent Forms of Insurance Insurance is chancing [= ‘relying on or inviting the risks of chance’ – Merriam-Webster’s Unlimited Dictionary] in the sense that the premiums are paid for certain, where as the return is uncertain. You may loose all the premiums you paid or may receive in return more then what you paid. This is known as chancing. There is also interest as money is being exchanged here for money and one party pays less and receives more in return. This is the reason why the great contemporary scholars from all over the world have declared all types of prevalent insurances unlawful (haram), unless when one is compelled to effect it by the Government. The Islamic Fiqh Academy (Jeddah), and which consists of top recognized scholars from around the globe researched the issue in considerable depth. The meeting was attended by no less than 150 such scholars from 45 Islamic Countries, including my respected teacher Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani (may Allah preserve him), and they unanimously declared all types of prevalent insurances to be unlawful. How About Car Insurance? However, it should be remarked here, that since third party car insurance is a mandatory legal requirement for every car-owner, one can affect this kind of insurance, as it is not possible for one to avoid it. Is There An Alternative? Islamic financial institutions offer a viable and Islamically-accepted alternative, which is takaful, a form of cooperative insurance. Details of this are available through such institutions. And Allah knows best Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari ------------- Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness. |
Posted By: rookaiya
Date Posted: 14 February 2007 at 1:11am
| shukran, rami |
Posted By: Sign*Reader
Date Posted: 14 February 2007 at 11:33am
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Salaam: The insurance in the western world is directly related to the value of human life. It is not in some theoretical sense but in the true practice of it. The insurance is part of the industrial system which mandates the development of the rules and its enforcement to maintain the safety rules and standards. Any wonder that a Muslim's life is so cheap in the world. Rami, it is lot easier for these scholars to fly to Jeddah for the meeting but they are oblivious to facts about the life of the jet planes they flew to get there. Without the involvement of insurance companies it just was not possible, that watch over it's development, manufacturing and it's maintenance cycle and of course if they crash some time to see what caused it and who gets penalized for the cause of the accident and who gets compensated for the loss of limbs and lives and it does not happen again. And same is true where the other automations are involved and for god sake any sane person won't let a contractor work on his house who does not have the worker's comp insurance! It is a risk some how needs to be covered when the some one's livelihood is involved. It is called the smooth running of the economy my dear. We don't have house fires every day but have the fire department stand by 24x7 as insurance with our taxes, who also take care of the life threatening emergencies. They won't let it happen the way saudi arabian girls got fried in the school fire with barred exits. The Insurance company would not allow that condition to exist. So Rami do you get the picture, example is always better than precept! These scholars sitting in the desert of Jeddah making a broad brush judgment about insurance should look in the neighborhood i.e the casualties at Jumrat and Fires of Mina than making claims of understanding the implications about the whys of insurance worldwide. If Imams are so worried about the implications of the riba I belive all the Muslims who use the western currencies like $ should know better that originates with riba from the get go by the Feds. The American social security system is also a riba based and lots of Muslims are part of it right now, Bush tried to make it market based. Is there a place in the world where the riba is not an in thing these days  Name the Muslim countries who are not indebted to the IMF or Saudis are not getting the interest on their deposits. IMHO rookaiys disability insurance question is concerned, it is relative to what country, location and levels of the risk she lives or works under and amount of time spends on the road etc. It is statistics on the activities which increases or decreases risks, it is Muslim's science used by the westerners to predict the outcome of events. The quality assurance of the products is also based on the same statistical systems the one you are using to communicate right this minute and the kind of warranties can be made to the customers. Calling insurance a chance like gambling is an inappropriate comparison. These scholars saying people paying HMO for medical insurance would be haram is a sign of ignorance than knowledge of the issues. The people get sick and hurt depending upon circumstances and the risk must be covered one way or the other, some body got to pay! ------------- Kismet Domino: Faith/Courage/Liberty/Abundance/Selfishness/Immorality/Apathy/Bondage or extinction. |
Posted By: rookaiya
Date Posted: 14 February 2007 at 11:35pm
| and Allah knows best. im not sure which way to go on this. |
Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 15 February 2007 at 6:38am
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Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem Scholars give rulings according to the Quran and sunnah of rasull allah [sallah llahu alaihi wa salla]. The basic premise here is that the sister seeks Islamic knowledge. You have given a fatwah based on your own hawa and nafs your argument has no basis in Islam, no muslim scholar from any madhhab would agree that insurance is halal and here you have set your self up against the entirety of the muslim ulamah around the world as there is a consensus on the issue. Sister Rookaiya i hope you can see the common sense in this point im making. We are talking about religion not having a social discussion on the matter if you want to speak for islam prove your case with evidence from the Quran and sunnah, Your opinion is not interchangeable with these two but rather you submit your will to them. It is not in some theoretical sense but in the true practice of it. Theory: Abstract reasoning; speculation. I believe you are using this definition of the word? By claiming Islamic laws should be based on practical experience rather than on Davine knowledge you have limited the understanding of this topic to mere Human perception as apposed to that of Allah subhana wa talla and His prophet. If i was to interprate your statement literaly you have just uttered a statement of Kufr. Rami, it is lot easier for these scholars to fly to Jeddah for the meeting but they are oblivious to facts about the life of the jet planes they flew to get there. It is not reasonable and completely ridiculous to assume any shaykh let alone every shaykh has no idea that the plane they fly in is insured. There is no Haram in using planes as a means of transport the individual has no direct link/involvement to the insurance being paid. You also have to know about insurance to be able to make a ruling on it so your assumption on the matter is naive. It is a risk some how needs to be covered when the some one's livelihood is involved. What is the Islamic basis for relying on other than Allah in matters such as these, if you can not afford the risk then you are living beyond your means which is itself haram. Doing something haram to avoid something bad does not make the haram act any less Haram. The dispensation is that Unless you are facing this bad situation which puts you in immediate serious danger then and only then can you take the lesser of two evils. Insurance is a gamble on whether or not this bad situation will come about, Gambling is Haram. It is called the smooth running of the economy my dear. This is a muslim forum we are discussing insurance from an islamic point of view your argument is capitalist, profit at any cost even if that cost is your akhira. We don't have house fires every day but have the fire department stand by 24x7 as insurance with our taxes, who also take care of the life threatening emergencies. No, a fire department is a public service not an insurance. Money is paid for people to do a service to the community ie physical labor not gambling on chance. It is permissible the same way a hospital is permissible or a police station, You are paying for a public service, something tangible not chancing on Qadar which has no tangible aspect when the money is exchanged. The Insurance company would not allow that condition to exist. Neither would a proper Islamic Government. So Rami do you get the picture, example is always better than precept! Once again Islamic laws are based on Quran and sunnah, do you have a problem with following these two? These scholars sitting in the desert of Jeddah making a broad brush judgment about insurance should look in the neighborhood i.e the casualties at Jumrat and Fires of Mina than making claims of understanding the implications about the whys of insurance worldwide. Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari resides in England. Insurance is a modern invention, the world survived for countless years without it. Once again Islamic laws are based on the Quran and Sunnah this is Islam 101 if you dont know this then why comment the sister is asking for the islamic opinion not an opinion! You should study bureaucracy under the Ottoman Khalifat since they invented it maybe then you will see how sophisticated the Muslim Ummah was. Or even better read THE TRAVELS OF IBN JUBAYR. Is there a place in the world where the riba is not an in thing these days Name the Muslim countries who are not indebted to the IMF or Saudis are not getting the interest on their deposits. The basic premise in what you are saying is that since riba is generally wide spread then other haram things must be also acceptable. Even if every person on earth was directly involved in riba it still would not change the fact that Allah made riba haram. Allah's commands are eternal and the Haram and Halal of matters are for Allah alone. IMHO rookaiys disability insurance question is concerned, it is relative to what country, location and levels of the risk she lives or works under and amount of time spends on the road etc. It is statistics on the activities which increases or decreases risks, it is Muslim's science used by the westerners to predict the outcome of events. The quality assurance of the products is also based on the same statistical systems the one you are using to communicate right this minute and the kind of warranties can be made to the customers. How does any of this change what is in the Quran and Sunnah? How about if there is to much risk involved in something dont do it, you are basically saying if there is great risk in the matter then insurance is halal ie get insurance then go get injured. Well if there is such a high degree of risk it is entirely up to the individual if they want to take those risks for what ever benefit they may derive none of which changes the fact insurance is haram. Insurance directly challenges Allah's Qadar about matters, even though it can never change his Qadar it puts a person in a state of false security while a muslim is encouraged to remember death and be wary of it. Calling insurance a chance like gambling is an inappropriate comparison. This is why it is chancing, "Insurance is chancing [= ‘relying on or inviting the risks of chance’ – Merriam-Webster’s Unlimited Dictionary] in the sense that the premiums are paid for certain, where as the return is uncertain. You may loose all the premiums you paid or may receive in return more then what you paid. This is known as chancing. There is also interest as money is being exchanged here for money and one party pays less and receives more in return." These scholars saying people paying HMO for medical insurance would be haram is a sign of ignorance than knowledge of the issues. No since you have not proven anything but simply written a large conclusion, Usually you have the intro then the main body [in which you provide your evidence] then the conclusion, we have seen the conclusion now where is the main body. It is clear from your post you dont have the slightest idea about how islamic rulings are derived from the Quran and sunnah, your argument lacks the basic structure of evidence and conclusion. An example is an analogy which is used to teach or describe a concept, you have simply taken the analogy and used it to come up with your own conclusions with out actually referring back to the Quran or Sunnah. ------------- Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness. |
Posted By: rookaiya
Date Posted: 16 February 2007 at 12:53am
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ok rami i get your point now there isnt a choice for me to make cos the Quran and Sunnah is clear on this matter that such insurance is unislamic, so i cannot take it. in any event, there is no legislation in this country that requires me to take this insurance. could u elaborate on the other insurances though. what does one do in cases, where u are compelled by legislation to take insurance. u need a car, and u cant get it without taking insurance. what do u do then? many of us are faced with these difficulties daily. |
Posted By: rami
Date Posted: 16 February 2007 at 11:52am
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Bi ismillahir rahmanir raheem assalamu alaikum All insurance is haram but there is a dispensation in such cases and it would be permisable for you to take out such insurance so you dont break any laws. You are taking the lesser of two Evils becouse you have no other choice but to choose one. ------------- Rasul Allah (sallah llahu alaihi wa sallam) said: "Whoever knows himself, knows his Lord" and whoever knows his Lord has been given His gnosis and nearness. |