Loading ...In the name of Allah, the most kind and the merciful
By the grace of Allah, the Almighty, I was able to complete this long pending, demanding task. There are many books available on Islamic insurance but none of them provides any practical guidance to the Muslims, particularly those who are living as minorities, who need the life insurance more than anyone else.
Centuries old opposition to everything that comes from the West has affected the concept of life insurance too. As a result, although the leading scholars have permitted it, still people are suspicious and raise objections, specially those who do not hesitate to commit many other illegitimate acts deliberately like taking dowry from the brides, watching vulgarity on TV, paying interest to buy the luxuries which do not come under the ‘necessity’, taking and giving bribes, etc. They often ask about the legitimacy of life insurance. This is nothing but ignorance and hypocrisy. This way they ridicule themselves due to lack of knowledge.
There are, of course, endless debates and controversies over the legitimacy of insurance but there is consensus that this issue needs Ijtehaad (juristic expertise). All the objections and misconceptions about life insurance like Riba (interest), gambling, Gharar (uncertainty), etc. have been discussed in detail in the book with the authentic evidences from the Quran, Ahadith and works of renowned Islamic scholars. I am encouraged by the news that the Saudi Government has permitted SIICO (Saudi Indo Insurance Company) this year to operate in Saudi Arabia. This will help to minimize the intensity of opposition to the concept of life insurance. People will be inclined to study the subject themselves, instead of blindly following misconceptions.
Dr. Najatullah Siddiqui, Sheikh Adil Salahi, late Manazer Ahsan Geelani and others have contributed valuable assets of knowledge to this subject. There is a possibility of errors in the translation of their articles and I anticipate pardon from them as well as I pray for myself and for them for a good reward from the Almighty Allah for the ultimate good intention of bene.tting the Ummah.
I would like to clarify that the permissibility of life insurance discussed in this book cannot be generalised for every insurance company of the world. There is no doubt that the kind of interest-ridden businesses going on in the banks, .nance and insurance companies all over the world are full of those elements, which are strictly prohibited in Islam. Specially the insurance .eld is full of interest, gambling, Gharar, etc.
My prime objective was to seek a solution for the Muslims. I made the Baitul Maal of early Islam a criterion and compared it with the present insurance companies in India and Pakistan. I came to the conclusion that the aims and the functioning of LIC (Life Insurance Corporation of India) and Pakistan State Life are partially closer to the aims and objectives of the Baitul Maal whose establishment is obligatory on every Muslim. They are pure of Gharar, gambling, etc. As far as interest is concerned, it is an integral part of the operation and cannot be avoided. The satisfactory answers have been given in the book to distinguish this interest from the Riba prohibited in the Quran and Ahadith. There are other life insurance companies too but need time to be studied.
Lastly, as far as the solution is concerned, the solution lies in a question raised by Dr. Mohammad Najatullah Siddiqui:
Until the appropriate time comes to establish the Islamic economy based insurance, does the Shariah permit to adopt the insurance with the intention to purify the system from interest under a long term plan? Can we strive hard and strengthen our position as a partner in the existing insurance system?
My personal view is that:
“why not? It is a must”.
I will be grateful for the readers’ comments and suggestions and pray for the right guidance to serve humanity.
My deep hearted thanks to Dr. Syed Ali Mahmood, Assistant professor King Abdul Aziz University, Jeddah; Dr. Ausaf Ahmed, advisor to Islamic Development Bank; Nayeem Javed; Abdul Azeez Saadi, Engr. Sayeeduddin, IRF (Islamic Research Foundation); Mufeed Khan Mirza Nawab, Deputy Editor Saudi Gazette and Mr. Razaul Murtaza. I am also thankful to late Maslehuddin Saadi and Mr. Tariq Ghazi, ex-Managing Editor of Saudi Gazette who always encouraged me to research and write.
- Aleem Khan Falaki
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