There is no legal impediment to this; rather, this is a form of cooperation in righteousness and piety. Specifying a fixed amount does no harm, as the intention is for this to be...
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The Shaykh : We are a group of brothers in Allah who agreed to establish a financial fund by which each of us pays a fixed sum of money every month, which is collected in this fund for the purpose of assisting any of the participating members in any state of hardship they encounter, including if one of their family members dies, in which case assistance is paid to him from it, and so on. Is there any legal impediment to this or not?
The Shaykh : There is no legal impediment to this; rather, this is a form of cooperation in righteousness and piety. Specifying a fixed amount does no harm, as the intention is for this fund to be organized. If it were not restricted to a fixed amount, it would not be regulated, and sufficient funds would not be obtained. However, it should be that this fixed amount is proportional.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Not by a fixed quantity. For example, it is said that one-tenth, half of one-tenth, or a quarter of one-tenth of the salary is taken, rather than saying that each individual must pay one hundred dirhams, for example, because income varies. Therefore, it is better for this to be proportional to what a person earns.
Furthermore, it should be that this is assistance for one who has been afflicted by an incident, meaning one who has encountered something he cannot afford to pay for.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Such as a fracture, illness, or something similar. As for making it assistance for one who caused the incident, this is not appropriate. Because if we establish this fund and make it for everyone who is afflicted by an incident or causes an incident, it will lead the foolish to be reckless and not care about the incidents that occur from them. Because when he knows that there is a fund that insures what is required of him as compensation due to this incident, he will not care whether the incident occurs from him or not.
Therefore, I say that these funds exist even here in the Saudi countries, but these cooperative funds should be assistance for one who is afflicted by an incident that requires financial help, not for one who caused the incident, for the reason I mentioned, which is that this leads to laxity, recklessness, and indifference to the incidents that occur from a person.
And as for what the questioner said, that if one of his family members dies, they assist him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There is something troubling about this, and it should not be restricted to death, because one of the family members may die and leave behind a lot of money, making the person independent of assistance. Therefore, it is better for the matter of assistance to be restricted to need, whatever the cause may be.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that no dispute arises among them, or so that the funds are not spent on those who are not entitled to them. Yes.
The Shaykh : There is no legal impediment to this; rather, this is a form of cooperation in righteousness and piety. Specifying a fixed amount does no harm, as the intention is for this fund to be organized. If it were not restricted to a fixed amount, it would not be regulated, and sufficient funds would not be obtained. However, it should be that this fixed amount is proportional.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Not by a fixed quantity. For example, it is said that one-tenth, half of one-tenth, or a quarter of one-tenth of the salary is taken, rather than saying that each individual must pay one hundred dirhams, for example, because income varies. Therefore, it is better for this to be proportional to what a person earns.
Furthermore, it should be that this is assistance for one who has been afflicted by an incident, meaning one who has encountered something he cannot afford to pay for.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Such as a fracture, illness, or something similar. As for making it assistance for one who caused the incident, this is not appropriate. Because if we establish this fund and make it for everyone who is afflicted by an incident or causes an incident, it will lead the foolish to be reckless and not care about the incidents that occur from them. Because when he knows that there is a fund that insures what is required of him as compensation due to this incident, he will not care whether the incident occurs from him or not.
Therefore, I say that these funds exist even here in the Saudi countries, but these cooperative funds should be assistance for one who is afflicted by an incident that requires financial help, not for one who caused the incident, for the reason I mentioned, which is that this leads to laxity, recklessness, and indifference to the incidents that occur from a person.
And as for what the questioner said, that if one of his family members dies, they assist him.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : There is something troubling about this, and it should not be restricted to death, because one of the family members may die and leave behind a lot of money, making the person independent of assistance. Therefore, it is better for the matter of assistance to be restricted to need, whatever the cause may be.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So that no dispute arises among them, or so that the funds are not spent on those who are not entitled to them. Yes.