Resolutions of Iftaa' Board



Resolutions of Iftaa' Board

Resolution No.(46): "Forms of Dealing with Islamic Insurance Company"

Date Added : 02-11-2015

Resolution No.(46): "Forms of Dealing with Islamic Insurance Company"
Date: 2001 AD

The Board has received the following question: 

What is the ruling of Sharia on dealing with the Islamic Insurance Company?

Answer: All success is attributed to Allah.

Having reviewed the forms of transaction applied in the Islamic Insurance Company and its corporate charter, it became clear to the Board that these forms are based on the system of cooperative insurance, which is permissible in Sharia. However, the transaction of the above company is also based on reinsuring with private commercial reinsurance companies, which don`t adhere to the rules of Sharia. However, since Islamic insurance companies are obliged to reinsure with these companies to be able to operate in the insurance sector, then the situation will remain as such until Islamic reinsurance companies are established.

Consequently, reinsurance and, the case aforementioned, are considered a need tantamount to a necessity, and the Muslim scholars have stated that a need is that whose non-fulfillment leads to hardship, whether that need was public i.e. includes the whole nation or private i.e. includes a certain category such as the people of a country or a craft. Private here doesn`t refer to individual need. Therefore, it is permissible to deal with these reinsurance companies so long as there is a need for that, and within the above rules.

On its part, the Board recommends that Islamic insurance companies do their best to find international Islamic reinsurance companies so that the permissibility of dealing with the above commercial companies becomes based on a pressing necessity. The Board also demands the Legal Supervisory Department to make sure that reinsuring with commercial companies is resorted to when there is a certain need for doing so. And Allah Knows Best.

 

Iftaa` Board

Chairman of the Iftaa` Board, Chief Justice, Izz Al-Deen Al-Tamimi

 Dr. Mohammad Abu Yahia

Dr. Abdulsalam Al-Abbadi

   Dr. Yousef Gheezaan

    Dr. Umar Al-Ashkhaar

  Sheikh Saeid Hijjawi

        Sheikh Na`eim Mijahid   

Dr. Wasif Al- Bakhri

 

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on a woman who takes medication to delay menstruation for fasting?

If a woman takes medication (to delay menstrual period) and does not experience menstruation, her fast is valid. However, she is not advised to do so unless there is a necessity.
If the medication harms her, even potentially, it is forbidden (haram) for her to take it.

My father has debts and asked me to repay them years ago, and I promised him I would do so upon his death — is it permissible for me to go back on my promise given that I am unable to repay them, especially since he refuses to contribute to repayment on the grounds that the debt has become my responsibility by virtue of my promise?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
The established principle is that a father's debt is to be repaid from his own wealth, if he possesses sufficient means. As for the promise made by the son to repay it on his father's behalf, fulfilling such a promise is strongly recommended, and breaking it is considerably disliked. Shaykh al-Islām Imām al-Nawawī, may Allah have mercy upon him, states: "Fulfilling a promise is emphatically recommended, and breaking it is severely disliked. The evidences for this from the Qurʾān and the Sunnah are well known." [Rawḍat al-Ṭālibīn,Vol. 2/P.278] Shaykh al-Islām Imām Zakariyyā al-Anṣārī, may Allah have mercy upon him, further states: "The reason fulfilling a promise is not obligatory and breaking it is not forbidden is that a promise is in the nature of a gift, and a gift does not become binding except upon receipt." [Asnā al-Maṭālib fī Sharḥ Rawḍ al-Ṭālib,Vol. 2/P.487]
Given that the son does not possess the financial means to fulfil his promise to his father, breaking this promise falls beyond his capacity — and Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear. Since the father himself possesses sufficient wealth to settle his own debt, repayment must be made from his own funds. Should he pass away before doing so, the debt is to be settled from his estate. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

Is it a condition that a woman should untie her locks while making Ghusl (ritual bath)?

Ghusl from Janabah (ritual impurity), or menstruation obligates that water reaches the roots of the hair in order for the Ghusl to be valid, but if it doesn`t, then hair locks must be untied for water to reach them, and for Ghusl to become valid.

What is the ruling of Islamic Law on obtaining financing from Islamic banks by bringing invoices in prior arrangement with the seller, then taking the cash after the financing is approved — with the purpose of settling debts and buying a car?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
It appears from the transaction described that its underlying purpose is to obtain cash through resorting to a legal artifice (ḥīlah/tawarruq-style trick), and it is not permissible to engage in such trickery or to coordinate with the various parties merely to obtain liquidity. This is because such artifices bring the sale closer in reality to a ribā-based (usurious) transaction, even if it outwardly appears otherwise.
The Prophet ﷺ said: "Do not commit what the Jews committed, thereby making lawful what Allah has made unlawful through the flimsiest of tricks." This was related by Ibn Baṭṭah in his book Ibṭāl al-Ḥiyal (p. 47), and many scholars have graded it as ḥasan (sound/acceptable).
We have already explained the impermissibility of engaging in such deceptive dealings with Islamic banks in Fatwa No. 516, so please refer to it. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.