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

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.

What should a person, who doubts the validity of his Wudu, or over performs it, do?

One who doubts the validity of his/her Wudu while performing it should redo it until he/she is certain of having attained purity. But, if doubt was after having performed Wudu, then he/she should not pay attention to that as doubt after the end of an act of worship does not count. This is of course in case doubt was within the reasonable limits since once it goes beyond that, it becomes a whispering of the Shaytaan (devil) which he/she should ignore as the Wudu is valid.

A person who has recently embraced Islam is afraid of undergoing circumcision (khitān) — what should he do?

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
If this person would be harmed by undergoing circumcision, based on the assessment of a trustworthy physician, then he is not obligated to undergo it. However, if the matter is simply a fear of the procedure itself, then it may be postponed until he feels at ease and settled about it, provided this does not lead him to become averse to Islam — while still taking care to remove any impurity from the concealed area [beneath the foreskin]. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.

What is the ruling on the fasting of a woman who has reached menopause if menstrual blood flows?

If a woman reaches the age of menopause (which is usually sixty-two) and her menses have ceased, then she sees blood after that, and its duration is not less than a day and a night (24 hours), it is menstruation (hayd). If it is less than a day and a night, she is considered as having non-menstrual vaginal bleeding (mustahada), so she fasts and prays. However, she must perform ablution for every obligatory prayer after its time enters, pray immediately, and be treated as a person with a continuous condition. There is no specific end limit for a woman's menstruation; it is possible as long as the woman is alive. And Allah the Almighty knows best.