What is the ruling on insurance?
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Question:
May Allah keep you safe. The honorable scholar says that much has been said regarding the ruling on insurance, so please clarify that with a comprehensive explanation so that people may benefit from it.
Answer:
Insurance means that you insure your property against theft, you insure your goods against sinking in the sea, you insure your shops against fire, and you insure your cars. In fact, they even insure their houses, and they insure their bodies and their limbs. They pay amounts to the companies, and the companies take responsibility for what happens in terms of accidents, loss, or theft. This is a contract involving the unknown and gambling. It involves consuming the money of the participating people unjustly. It contains gambling and risks. It contains riba (usury or interest). You pay some money to the company, and if an accident happens to you or a loss occurs, they pay large sums in exchange for what you paid. This is riba, explicit riba, and it involves gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract), ignorance, and consuming people's money unjustly. Therefore, insurance in all its forms is invalid, whether it is life insurance, commercial insurance, or property insurance, because it is all based on risks, gharar, ignorance, and gambling. Many defects enter into it. The Muslim relies on Allah and depends on Allah. If something befalls him, he is content with the divine decree and destiny of Allah and he fixes the matters in which theft or loss occurred. He fixes them at his own expense, at his own cost, not at the expense of people. He replaces what was stolen, and he replaces what was lost at his own cost. The costs of repairs are his responsibility. As for taking people's money and making people bear the cost of the accidents that happen to him, this involves injustice and oppression, and it involves gharar, ignorance, riba, and gambling. Several defects are combined in it. Decisions have been issued by the great living scholars and the fiqh academies prohibiting commercial insurance in all its forms, whatever name it is given.
May Allah keep you safe. The honorable scholar says that much has been said regarding the ruling on insurance, so please clarify that with a comprehensive explanation so that people may benefit from it.
Answer:
Insurance means that you insure your property against theft, you insure your goods against sinking in the sea, you insure your shops against fire, and you insure your cars. In fact, they even insure their houses, and they insure their bodies and their limbs. They pay amounts to the companies, and the companies take responsibility for what happens in terms of accidents, loss, or theft. This is a contract involving the unknown and gambling. It involves consuming the money of the participating people unjustly. It contains gambling and risks. It contains riba (usury or interest). You pay some money to the company, and if an accident happens to you or a loss occurs, they pay large sums in exchange for what you paid. This is riba, explicit riba, and it involves gharar (excessive uncertainty in a contract), ignorance, and consuming people's money unjustly. Therefore, insurance in all its forms is invalid, whether it is life insurance, commercial insurance, or property insurance, because it is all based on risks, gharar, ignorance, and gambling. Many defects enter into it. The Muslim relies on Allah and depends on Allah. If something befalls him, he is content with the divine decree and destiny of Allah and he fixes the matters in which theft or loss occurred. He fixes them at his own expense, at his own cost, not at the expense of people. He replaces what was stolen, and he replaces what was lost at his own cost. The costs of repairs are his responsibility. As for taking people's money and making people bear the cost of the accidents that happen to him, this involves injustice and oppression, and it involves gharar, ignorance, riba, and gambling. Several defects are combined in it. Decisions have been issued by the great living scholars and the fiqh academies prohibiting commercial insurance in all its forms, whatever name it is given.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، ما حكم التأمين؟ لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.