Issues and Questions Disability Insurance, Madhahib, and Migration

By Dr Muzammil H. Siddiqi
Garden Grove, CA

Q 1. I was wondering if anyone would be able to give me the Islamic perspective on Disability Insurance.
A.1. I have written on the subject of insurance before. The word insurance is a confusing and misleading word. We believe that no human being can insure anyone and anything. Insurance companies can neither insure your health from sickness, nor your property from damage, nor you from disability and death. Only Allah has the power to insure. However, apart from the terminology, the principle of mutual cooperation in helping each other in case of death, accident or sickness etc. is not wrong.
There is nothing un-Islamic about it. As Muslims we may use the word "takaful" (mutual responsibility) for it. It were Muslims who first introduced this principle. Muslim businessmen in Spain used to make long journeys via sea for trade purposes and it were they who first introduced this principle. They used to collect some money from each merchant and used to compensate those among them who incurred any loss of ship or merchandise in their sea voyages. European businessmen learnt and adopted this practice from Muslims. While Muslims forgot about it, it was the Europeans who developed it in the most sophisticated and diverse forms.
Some Muslim scholars consider insurance forbidden on the assumption that it involves a kind of gambling and it goes against the principle of taqdir in Islam. But there are other scholars who have equally strongly argued that insurance is very different from gambling. Dr Nejatullah Siddiqi in his book on Insurance in Islamic Economy has pointed out that gambling upsets the normal system based on work and reward and is inimical to equitable distribution of income and wealth, whereas insurance protects the disruption of the system by accidents and events beyond human control. A gambler takes risks in order to make more money, but the insurer's basic objective is to protect his/her assets and interests.
The Takaful (or insurance as the word has become common now a days) in the case of disability and/or loss of life is not against the principle of taqdir, because no one is claiming that this or that company will protect life, health, or safety. The insurance companies only promise that in case of death, sickness or accident or disability they will provide certain compensation to the individual or his/her family within certain limits that the parties have agreed upon. The insurance companies utilize the law of probability and causality. They estimate how many people in a large population get involved in accidents. On the basis of the scientific studies of statistics, etc., they collect a certain premium from every person and distribute it among those who incur the loss. For these reasons, many Muslim scholars have allowed insurance, and they also do not see anything wrong in life or disability insurance. I am inclined to accept this position and consider health, home, auto, disability, and even "life" insurance permissible in Islam.
We, however, must keep in mind that most of the insurance organizations today are involved in riba and other Islamically prohibited transactions. It is for this reason that Muslims have their own insurance companies based on Islamic economic principles. This was also the opinion of Maulana Mawdudi who once said that insurance can be re-organized under Islamic principles so that it becomes free from all prohibited practices. In the absence of Halal Islamic insurance companies, Muslims are allowed to purchase insurance from other insurance companies because as a minority in non-Islamic states Muslims must protect themselves, their properties and businesses, and they must make provisions for their families. A prominent group of 'Ulama held a conference in Nadwatul 'Ulama in Lucknow, India in the early 70's and had suggested that Muslims should take the benefit of insurance.

Q 2. Since we have four Madhahib and there are differences among them, which one should I follow? Should I adopt the one that my parents have or study all of them and choose one according to my understanding or consider all of them correct and try to adhere to the Qur'an and Sunnah as much as possible? As you must be aware this is a very common problem here in the US as most of Indo-Pak Muslims are Hanafi and our brothers from Middle East/East Asia belong to other Madhahib. I think no one has the authority to say who is wrong and who is right, but what should I do? To which madh'hab I should belong? How should I know that? Please guide me, (and my other brothers/sisters who face the same problem).
A 2. All the four great Imams tried their best to follow the Qur'an and Sunnah. They had some differences among them either because they did not receive some Ahadith or did not consider them authentic, or they differed in their methods of interpretation. We trust all of them and respect them. Many scholars in the past wrote books explaining the reasons that led to the differences of opinions among the Imams. Imam Ibn Taymiyah wrote his famous book "Raf' al-Malam 'an al-A'immat al-A'lam" (Removal of the Blame Against the Great Imams). Shah Waliullah of Delhi wrote his great work "Al-Insaf fi Bayan Asbab al-Ikhtilaf" (The Fair Explanation of the Causes of Differences). There are many other books on this subject.
The Sahabah and Sahabiyyat - may Allah be pleased with all of them - also had some differences. During their time, Muslims used to go to any one of them to seek his/her opinion and used to follow them. In the early period Muslims were quite flexible in the matters of the Madhahib. In later centuries, unfortunately, some rigidity came and Muslims became so much divided that they used to pray separately. The Hanafi would not pray behind the Shafi'I and the Maliki would not pray behind the Hanbali. Even in the Haram of Makkah, there were four Musallahs. Five times a day four Jama'ats used to take place one after another. Alhamdulillah, we are out of this rigidity now. Almost all Muslims agree that this was wrong.
We Muslims in America belong to various ethnic groups and various Madhahib. We should be very tolerant of the differences between Madhahib and should not argue or fight one another on this subject. Those who know the sources of Islam and have thorough knowledge of the Qur'an and Sunnah, may follow the Qur'an and Sunnah without adhering to any particular Madh'hab. We should try to study the Qur'an and Sunnah and should make every effort to learn our religion. There is also a need for Ijtihad on many issues. The door of Ijtihad is not closed and can never be closed by any one after Allah and His Messenger have opened it for Muslims. But Ijithad has its rules and qualifications. Do not make Ijtihad unless you are qualified to do so.
The Muslims who are not well-versed in Islamic sources, must follow any Imam and his madh'hab. If there is a question on any particular issue, they may ask any knowledgeable and pious scholar whom they trust. Muslims should not be too strict in adhering to one madh'hab. The loyalty of a Muslim should not be to a Madh'hab, but to the Qur'an and Sunnah.