SO-CALLED ‘TAKAFOL’ IS BLATANT HARAAM INSURANCE
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SO-CALLED ‘TAKAFOL’ IS BLATANT HARAAM INSURANCE

The financial venture being marketed in South Africa for Muslim consumption called Takaful is Haraam. The product being offered to the Muslim community has been called ‘Takafol’ by its sellers, Takafol S.A.Ltd. This company states in its introductory letter of advertisement:

“Takafol S.A., has with the mercy of Allah Ta’ala, been launched in March 2004: aiming at providing an Islamically acceptable alternate to the conventional insurance schemes.”

A perusal of the rules and conditions applicable to the new scheme offered by this company, establishes beyond the least shadow of doubt that there is absolutely no difference between ‘conventional’ insurance and the insurance of Takafol (S.A.) Ltd.

It is the same product with a name having an Islamic hue. It is the same wine in a different bottle. It is plain ‘zina’ described as nikah.

FUNDAMENTALS

The very same two fundamentals which render conventional insurance haraam exist in the ‘takafol’ scheme. The two fundamentals which make insurance haraam are riba and gambling. Everyone understands what riba is. It is commonly called interest although interest is just o­ne aspect of riba.

The suspension of gain o­n a risk or o­n an unsure future development in an agreement requiring both parties to tender wealth is qimaar or gambling in the Shariah. Both these elements are found par excellence in the takafol scheme. In fact there is nothing new in the product which this company is offering. It is the same as conventional insurance. It has o­nly changed the name.

SHAMELESS

The aggravating factor here is that the company is shamelessly offering its riba-qimaar product in the name of Islam and as a consequence of “the mercy of Allah Ta’ala” whereas Allah’s mercy never offers Muslims something which is glaringly haraam in the Shariah.

Even a layman who browses through the brochure of the company will quickly understand that there is no difference between conventional insurance and takafol insurance. Whether zina is committed by the kuffaar or by Muslims calling it ‘nikah’, it remains haraam.

It is essential to understand that a haraam scheme does not become halaal merely by a name-change and giving it a title which sounds Islamic to the Muslim ear.

TAKAFOL

Takafol is a mutual pledge between two parties. The o­ne pledges to pay money for a possible future gain of an unstipulated amount, the gain being suspended o­n damage to his property which he insures with the takafol company. If the party does suffer a future loss of the insured assets, the other party (the takaol company) will pay him an amount after exhaustive investigations conducted with the desire to escape payment in exactly the same way as all insurance companies act.

The takafol company after being driven into a tight corner in consequence of the correct manipulation of its many haraam conditions by the o­ne who has been insured, is forced to reluctantly pay up in consideration for the haraam premiums which the insured person has made over a period of time. There is, therefore, not the slightest doubt in the prohibition of the takafol product which Takafol (S.A.) Ltd is presently marketing in the Muslim community.

DEVIOUS

In a devious endeavour to convince Muslims of the acceptability of their Haraam takafol product, the company manipulates the names of senior Ulama who have departed from this world some decades ago. Thus, this company states:

“Hazrat Mufti Muhammad Shafee’ (rahmatullaahi alahi), has also presented a model for the muslim ummah. He (rah) had chosen a model wherein a Waqf fund is formed…..”

“This model has not o­nly been presented by this great luminary of Islam but has been blessed with the approval of other great scholars of that era, like Hazrat Moulana Yusuf Binnori (rah), Hazrat Mufti Wali Hasan (rah), Hazrat Mufti Ashiq Ilaahi (rah), etc.”

It is indeed strange how modernists and liberals rush into the folds of Taqleed of contemporary Ulama when they find it hard to follow even the Aimmah Mujtahideen. Wherever there is a straw to grasp for the presentation of ‘evidence’ for their baatil, they have no qualms in citing in substantiation the source from whence the straw is acquired.

Takafol (S.A.) Ltd should produce in detail the conditions and stipulations of their takafol product and also publish in detail the Takaaful schemes of Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi (rahmatullah alayh) and of the other Ulama they have mentioned.

It is deceptive to mention the names of senior Ulama without presenting their presentation and in detail their Takaaful concepts and schemes. The manipulation of the names of seniors is designed to convey to Muslims the idea that the insurance product which the company offers conforms to the Takaaful blueprint which Mufti Shafi Sahib had offered. It is therefore necessary for this company to explain to the community of the product which Hadhrat Mufti Shafi and other Ulama had offered to enable us all to compare the scheme of Takafol (S.A.) Ltd with the Takaaful model of the Ulama.

It is misleading to cite the names of the senior Ulama without presenting their models. In short, the haraam model which the company offers has no resemblance with the model of Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shafi (tahmatullah alayh). The model offered by the company is a pure insurance contract which is haraam.

HARAAM

The Muslim community should understand that to buy insurance from Takafol (S.A.) Ltd is just like obtaining insurance from the conventional insurance companies. It is haraam to indulge in these "Islamic" insurance schemes.

Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said that riba is a conglomeration of 70 major sins, the lightest of which is like committing adultery with o­ne’s own mother.