Whether life insurance is haram is a question on which named Islamic scholars and councils have given answers, and they do not all say the same thing. Below is what they say, in their own published words, and what takaful (the mutual alternative they point to) is. None of this is a ruling, and it cannot tell you what Islam permits: that is a question for a scholar you trust.

If you want to know what cover is available to you in the UK, including whether any Sharia-compliant option exists, the short form here passes your details to an FCA-authorised broker, who can tell you what they could arrange. The broker does not decide whether a product is compliant with your beliefs; that stays with you and your scholar.

What do scholars and councils say about conventional life insurance?

One collective statement comes from the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, a body of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation based in Jeddah. At its session in December 1985 it adopted a resolution on insurance. The Academy's text says:

The commercial insurance contract with a fixed periodical premium, which commercial insurance companies commonly use, is a contract that contains major elements of deceit that void the contract and is therefore prohibited by Shariah.

The same resolution (Academy, 1985) goes on: "The alternative contract, which is compliant to Shariah in this matter, is the contract of cooperative insurance, founded on the basis of charity and cooperation."

In September 2012 the Academy returned to the subject in Resolution No. 187, which opens by saying that "the Academy emphasizes its resolution no. 9 (9/2) concerning Insurance and Reinsurance". It restated that the fixed-premium commercial contract is a compensation contract "which contains a high degree of gharar (uncertainty) to an extent that makes it invalid; it is, therefore, prohibited according to Shariah." It again named cooperative insurance, "based on donation and cooperation", as the alternative. It also noted that problems had emerged in the practice of Islamic insurance companies and that a fuller framework for cooperative insurance needed to be developed.

Other scholars name different reasons. SeekersGuidance, an online Islamic learning site, answered a question on this in its Hanafi fiqh section on 27 January 2015 (Ustadh Salman Younas, checked by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani): "The default legal ruling of conventional insurance is that it is impermissible due to its incorporating elements of interest and chance, both of which are prohibited in the Qur’an." An undated answer by Mufti Waseem Khan of DarulUloomTT.net (Darul Uloom Trinidad and Tobago), republished on IslamQA.org, collects earlier statements. It quotes Shaikh Abdullah Bin Baaz as saying that insuring one's life and property is forbidden because "Al-Garar and usury are involved therein", and Mufti Nizamudeen, described there as the Grand Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband, as saying that insurance "whether it is life insurance or other forms in itself is either usury or gambling".

So the reasons are worded differently from one source to the next. The Academy's English texts speak of deceit (1985) and of gharar, or uncertainty (2012), with the later resolution presenting itself as reaffirming the earlier one. SeekersGuidance names interest and chance. The statements quoted by Mufti Waseem Khan name gharar and usury, or usury and gambling. A scholar may weigh these reasons differently.

Do all scholars agree?

No. SeekersGuidance's answer gives two exceptions to its default position: where "the law of the land makes it a requirement to have insurance in order to use a certain commodity, such as a car", and where there would be "clear and overwhelming hardship in not having insurance, such as medical insurance in America." It adds: "while medical insurance is a necessity in America, it is not the same case in Britain." It says the position is held by scholars such as Mufti Saeed Palanpuri and Shaykh Ali Qurra Daghi. It also records that Shaykh Mustafa Zarqa allowed conventional forms of insurance, a view SeekersGuidance says it is "unable to present" as followable because, it says, the vast majority of scholars rejected it on principled grounds.

Another Hanafi answer, from FatwaCentre.org (Mufti Abdurrahman ibn Yusuf, republished on IslamQA.org, undated), deals with a life policy whose cost is taken automatically from an employee's pay. It says: "This money received from such a life insurance is lawful and the inheritors can benefit from it, since the deceased did not enter into it voluntarily, so it will be treated like a gift when it is received."

These are individual answers to particular questions, and they are different in kind from the Academy's resolutions. They are given here to show the range, not to settle it. Schools and scholars within the Hanafi, Shia, Salafi and other traditions can differ, and a general web page cannot tell you which view applies to your situation. The answers quoted here speak of insurance in general rather than naming income protection, mortgage protection or whole of life cover, so if you are weighing one of those, ask your scholar about that product specifically. For how UK cover works in general, see how life insurance works; for the products themselves, see life insurance and mortgage protection and what income protection pays.

What is takaful?

Takaful is the name used for Islamic cover run on a mutual, cooperative basis. Prudential BSN Takaful, a Malaysian takaful provider, describes it on its website as "an arrangement based on mutual assistance", and explains that the word takaful comes from an Arabic root, kafala, meaning "responsibility, joint guarantee or guaranteeing each other". It describes participants' contributions as being "pooled into the Tabarru` Fund together with the contribution of other participants to provide for mutual financial benefits payable to all the eligible takaful participants or their beneficiaries on the occurrence of pre-agreed events".

In other words, as this provider describes it, members give contributions to a shared fund as a donation, and the fund pays benefits to members or their beneficiaries. That differs from a conventional policy, where a customer pays a premium to an insurer under a contract. The same page says the provider deducts "a certain percentage of the contribution as Wakalah Charge" for managing the plan. This is one provider's account of its own product, in Malaysia; another operator's terms are set out in its own documents, and whether a particular takaful product meets a particular scholar's standard is, again, for that scholar to say.

Is there Sharia-compliant life cover in the UK?

What is on sale in the UK changes, and only a provider's own current documents can say what a product is and how it works. The Malaysian provider quoted above is describing its own product in Malaysia.

You can look up any firm you are offered on the Financial Conduct Authority's Financial Services Register, which the FCA describes as "a public record of firms, individuals and other bodies that are, or have been, authorised by us or the PRA". If you would like to know whether any Sharia-compliant life or protection cover can be arranged for you, send your details through the form and ask the FCA-authorised broker who replies what they can arrange and which insurers' products are involved.

Ask what the product is called, who the insurer or fund operator is, and which scholars or board have reviewed its terms. Then take those documents to your own scholar. A broker can describe what is available. Whether a particular product is acceptable to you is a religious judgement that sits with you and the scholar you follow, not with the broker or this site.

How cover came to you can also matter. The FatwaCentre.org answer above deals with a policy an employee did not choose, and SeekersGuidance's exceptions include insurance the law requires, which is another reason to ask a scholar about your own circumstances. For whether a lender requires cover, see whether you need life insurance for a mortgage.

What should you ask your own scholar?

The sources above disagree on the reasons and, in places, on the conclusion, so a list of questions is more useful than an answer from a web page. You might ask which of the reasons above (gharar, interest or gambling) your scholar relies on and whether that reasoning applies to a policy that only pays out on death. You might ask whether your situation falls under any exception your scholar recognises, such as a legal requirement. You might ask how your scholar views a policy provided through work, and how they view income protection, mortgage protection or critical illness cover, which pay in different circumstances.

It also helps to bring the policy documents. If you decide to see what is on offer, sending the form here costs nothing and takes a few minutes, and you can take whatever wording the broker sends to your scholar before you decide anything.

Frequently asked questions

Is life insurance haram in Islam?

Named bodies and scholars have said that conventional commercial insurance is prohibited, among them the International Islamic Fiqh Academy in 1985 and 2012, though others quoted above allow exceptions or differ. This site gives no ruling; your own scholar can.

Why do some scholars say life insurance is not halal?

The International Islamic Fiqh Academy's English texts speak of deceit (1985) and of gharar, or uncertainty (2012). SeekersGuidance (2015) names "interest and chance", and the statements collected by DarulUloomTT.net name usury, gharar and gambling. A scholar may give these reasons different weight.

What do the Hanafi, Shia and Salafi schools say?

The answers quoted here include Hanafi answers (SeekersGuidance, FatwaCentre.org, DarulUloomTT.net) and a statement attributed to Shaikh Abdullah Bin Baaz. They are not a complete account of any school. If you follow a Shia or Salafi scholar, that scholar or their office is the place to ask.

Is mortgage life insurance or income protection halal?

The answers quoted above speak of insurance in general rather than naming these products; Mufti Nizamudeen's, as quoted, covers "life insurance or other forms". Ask your scholar about the specific product, and see income protection for a mortgage for how the UK products work.

Is it haram to work in life insurance or to sell it?

Working in or selling insurance is a different question from buying a policy for yourself, and it is one to put to a scholar you follow.

What does takaful cost in the UK?

Any price, for takaful or conventional cover, would depend on your own details, so it cannot be given here.

Sources