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:

Assalaamalaikum.

 

Please can you enlighten me with regard to health insurance. I thought of taking a health insurance policy to meet any unfortunate incident, or do I avoid it purely on faith and trust in Allah.

 

 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

 

Answer:

 

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.

 

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 further 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.

 

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 who provide insurance in various categories in accordance with Shariah and interest-free principles.

 

Thus in conclusion brother, if one seeks health (or any other type of) insurance from a Shariah compliant Insurance company, there is absolutely no harm; but if one seeks health (or any other type of) insurance from a conventional interest-based Insurance company, they would indeed involve themselves in the crime of ‘riba’, which is categorically declared as forbidden for the believers in the Quran and the Sunnah.  And Allah Alone Knows Best.

 

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