What is the ruling on subscribing to a life insurance policy with an Islamic insurance company, which pays the heirs upon the death of the subscriber, or disburses a small portion to the insured if he is afflicted with a disease leading to certain death, with the remainder being disbursed to the heirs, given that the subscriber does not have a government job or a pension that is paid to his heirs?
The summary of the answer:
Dealing with insurance companies depends on the nature of their system. If the company operates on a cooperative Takaful insurance system, where its role is to manage premiums as an agent and cover damages from these collected premiums, then this type is permissible, and there is no objection to subscribing to it. However, if the company is the one that pays for treatment costs or a sum of money to heirs in exchange for paid premiums that it has taken ownership of, then this is commercial insurance, which is prohibited, based on gharar (excessive uncertainty) and maysir (gambling), and it is not permissible to subscribe to it.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/124310