What is the ruling on dealing with insurance companies that insure money and cars, given that they claim their methods are Sharia-compliant?
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The questioner : He says: May the Shaykh explain, what is the ruling on dealing with insurance companies that insure money and cars, given that they claim their methods are Sharia-compliant?
The Shaykh : Insurance companies operate such that a person pays a known amount each year for his property, for example, saying: "This is my car; I will insure it for five hundred riyals each year, on the condition that if it is involved in an accident, the insurance company will repair it, and if it is not involved in an accident, the company keeps the money." This is exactly the gambling (maysir) that Allah the Exalted has forbidden in His Book, and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus, as Allah the Exalted said:[Al-Ma'idah 5:90] What is it? [Al-Ma'idah 5:90] So, the one who deals with an insurance company is either a winner or a loser. When is he a winner? If the car is involved in a major accident, he is a winner at that time, because he paid, for example, five hundred, and the car was repaired for five thousand. And he may be a loser. When? If no accident occurs, he will be a loser, because he paid, for example, five thousand riyals and did not benefit from it at all. Yes.
The Shaykh : Insurance companies operate such that a person pays a known amount each year for his property, for example, saying: "This is my car; I will insure it for five hundred riyals each year, on the condition that if it is involved in an accident, the insurance company will repair it, and if it is not involved in an accident, the company keeps the money." This is exactly the gambling (maysir) that Allah the Exalted has forbidden in His Book, and upon which the Muslims have reached consensus, as Allah the Exalted said: