Insurance on furniture and cars: What is its ruling?

Question : This is a questioner from Riyadh who has coded his name with the letter A. He asks: What is the ruling in the Shari'ah, in your view, regarding insurance on furniture and cars? I ask the Honorable Shaykh to answer. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, his Companions, and those who follow them in excellence until the Day of Judgment. Insurance is when a person is asked to pay a specific amount of money every month or every year, on the condition that the insurance company repairs what is insured and guarantees it if it is damaged. It is well known that this is maysir (gambling), which Allah the Exalted has forbidden in His Book in His saying: The reason it is maysir is that the insured person, in relation to the company, is either a gainer or a loser, or he may be safe. For example, if he pays an insurance premium of five hundred riyals, and then damage or loss occurs to the insured item amounting to one thousand riyals, in this case the insured person is a gainer and the company is a loser. If the situation is the reverse, meaning he paid five hundred riyals and no loss or damage occurred, then in this case he is a loser and the company is a gainer. If he paid five hundred riyals and the damage or loss amounted to five hundred riyals, then neither is a gainer nor a loser. However, entering into the commitment required by the insurance contract is forbidden, even in this last case where the person is neither a gainer nor a loser, because he has committed to being either a gainer or a loser. We advise our Muslim brothers to refrain from engaging in this forbidden contract, for it will only increase their loss. We ask Allah for guidance and safety for us and for them. O Allah, amen. May Allah bless you.