Is life insurance allowed for a Muslim to have and can you give me more detail about it. And the next one is if contraception allow or not?

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

Life Insurance is defined as “A protection against the loss of income that would result if the insured passed away. The named beneficiary receives the proceeds and is thereby safeguarded from the financial impact of the death of the insured.”[1]

Life Insurance is not permissible for the following three reasons:

1. Qimaar (gambling): The Life Insurance Company might receive more than the insured monies or might not receive any amount of money. This is the same as gambling. If the insured person is afflicted with any loss or damage to insured properties worth millions, he might receive more than what he has paid for or might receive less. This is exactly how gambling works.

2. Riba (Interest): If the Insurance Company receives premiums worth more than the insured amount, then that will be usury and interest. If there is any loss to the insured person’s property and the loss is worth much lesser than the total premiums that he has paid to the insurance company, such a person would be guilty of undertaking a usurious and interest based transaction.

3. Gharar (Future Uncertainty): There is no certainty when the insured person will die. Therefore the insurance contract is based on an uncertain future event, i.e. death of the insured person. Rasullullah (Sallallahu Alayhi Sallam) prohibited any transaction which has the element of Gharar.

2. Kindly refer to the following link for more details on the Islamic Perspective on Contraception’s: http://daruliftaa.net/General-Islamic/contraceptiondetail.html

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Ismail Desai,
Student Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa

Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.