Please help. My job might be at stake.

Nurain

Nurain

Junior Member
Asalamu alaykum brothers and sisters

I am working in the legal industry whereby I deal with personal injury and damages arising from all sorts of accidents. I have been working in the said line for, you can say, a year now.

A thought hit me a few days back when I realise that I might be dealing with usury money (riba’) as my job entails liaising with insurance company, aiding clients in claiming for money from the insurance company of the other party, etc. In fact, the whole of my salary itself comes from this source entirely!

I did some reading up and I deduce the following: -

1) Insurance is no doubt usury, and haraam – paying out for insurance haraam (in my case, I “claim” insurance money from the other party on behalf of my client)

On the other hand, I was involved in a car accident myself (haha, the irony of it) and am about to claim a sum of money from the other driver. What about the ruling for this – is taking money from the other party to cover for my medical expenses (pertaining to the accident) haraam also? In addition, there is the “General Damages” whereby I am able to claim for what they call “pain & suffering”.

Jazakallah khair brothers and sisters for reading. :girl3:
 
Hard Rock Moslem

Hard Rock Moslem

I'm your brother
Go ahead and claim your insurance. In Malaysia we do have Islamic insurance called "Takaful" so we have alternative. But in your case, do you have alternative other than conventional insurance? Sometime you can't escape from Riba' system though we must try out best to avoid it. It is haraam but you can't buy a car without insurance, you can't do international trade without insurance.
 
Al-Kashmiri

Al-Kashmiri

Well-Known Member
Staff member
ayman1 said:
How can insurance be riba? There is no loan involved. Insurance is very much like Fidya, a compensation for harm done. Fidya is part of the Sharee`a, e.g., in accidental death. As brother "Hard Rock Moslem" said it's called Takaaful, an Arabic word that means mutual caretaking. How can that be bad?

It is commendable of you to be wary of any transaction that may constitute riba, but don't overburden yourself. Riba has been well defined as the riba that used to be practiced at Jaahiliyya (pre-Islam Arabia). That is, a loan becomes due and the borrower cannot pay it off, so the lender tells him: I'll give you another year to pay in return for an increase in the amount you must pay.
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As-salaamu `alaykum

Jazaak Allaahu khayran.

I just realised after reading that, that I posted the wrong link! Here's what I was meant to post, http://fatwa-online.com/fataawa/muslimminorities/0000324_1.htm

Insurance Policies

Question: Is it permissible for Muslims who live as minority communities in non-Islaamic countries and who have no supporter or guardian other than Allaah, to take out insurance policies? The insurance company, through monthly payments, will take care of a person's children after his death?

Response: According to my knowledge, insurance policies are based on winning and losing. Every policy or contract that is based on this is in fact gambling, which Allaah has forbidden in His Book (Qur.aan) and has placed alongside wine and the worshipping of idols. He, the Almighty, says: {O you who believe! Alcoholic drink, gambling and divining with arrows are an abomination of Satan's doing. So avoid them in order that you may be successful}, [Soorah al-Maa.idah, Aayah 90].

Let me give you an example, You insure a car and pay one thousand dirhams every year in order that the insurance company guarantees to cover the cost of whatever might happen to the car, whether it is written-off or just damaged. If a year passes and the car has neither been written-off nor damaged, then the insurance company is the winner and the insurance policy holder is the loser. If, however, the car is written-off or badly damaged, the policy holder will get back more than he paid to the company. In this case, he is the winner and the insurance company is the loser. Every contract which is based on this is gambling and hence forbidden.

However, it has been mentioned to me that in some countries people are forced to take out insurance policies. So what can Muslims do if this is the situation? In my opinion, he should pay whatever money that he is forced to pay for insurance but he should not consider that it is a legal contract or agreement, but rather that it is money paid unjustly under pressure. If no loss occurs, this is by the Grace and Mercy of Allaah towards him and the money has been taken from him unjustly and he shall find it on the Day of Resurrection. In the event that he suffers some loss to his property and the insurance company intends to reimburse him, then, if the amount he is due back is equal to what he paid for his policy, he can justly take it. If, on the other hand, what he is due from the insurance company is more than he paid, he should not take more than the amount that he paid them. In this way, the process will, in my opinion, be in accordance with Islaamic law.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
al-Aqalliyaat al-Muslimah - Page 63, Fatwa No.3
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Al-Kashmiri

Al-Kashmiri

Well-Known Member
Staff member
As-salaamu `alaykum

Allaah knows best. This is his ijtihaad, and we have the right to accept or reject it. Regarding your last point, I believe he meant it's a loss for the company in that specific instance. In other words, I don't think he meant by it that the company is making an overall loss. Rather, they may make a loss on a specific policy holder, even though their millions of others will more than compensate it.

However meticulously their figures are derived, I personally agree with the Shaykh. Me for example, having to take out a policy to drive is not something I would want to do, and many others I know feel the same. Paying more than what something is worth, just to protect/compensate it, reminds me of the mafia and their protection payments. So whatever sciences these firms have behind their calculations mean little to me, and I prefer to call it robbery than insurance.

Take care,

Was-salaam
 
B

BigAk

Junior Member
Brother Ayman brings good and accurate points in this discussion. We can't say insurance is like riba... The two are very different in all aspects of riba.
 
Al-Kashmiri

Al-Kashmiri

Well-Known Member
Staff member
As-salaamu `alaykum

Maybe insurance is a cheaper way out of the twisted economic systems in place in the west? A need to return to Islaamic finance.
 
TheHumbleWun

TheHumbleWun

Banned
Salaam,

I agree with the opnion that car insurance is not haram. Besides, the law here in the U.S. requires everyone driving a vehicle to have one or else you can get denied a driving license or go to jail if caught.

Brother Ayman1 - just curious, do you consider life insurance haram? There is a difference of opinion amongst scholars.
 
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