Wednesday, 29 April 2026 (12 Dhuʻl-Qiʻdah 1447 AH)
Question: I buy goods from Egypt, then ship them by boat to Yemen, and there are insurance companies which guarantee the arrival of the goods to Yemen and undertake to guarantee what is diminished of the goods due to sinking, fire, or the like, in return for money. Is it permissible for me to give that company the required amount in return for the mentioned guarantee, bearing in mind that the insurance company does not appoint anyone to guard the goods, does not exert effort, and incurs no cost in preserving the goods, except that if something is destroyed it pays its value, and if the goods are all destroyed it pays their full value?
The answer – and Allah is the One who grants success – is that this type of transaction is a newly-emerged type, and what appears to me is that it is permissible; for the owner of the goods pays an amount of money in return for the preservation of his wealth, and the insurance company takes what it takes in return for preservation and guarantee.
I hold that the shipping company, because of the insurance, will be exceedingly careful to safeguard the cargoes, because the insurance company will question it, demand from it, and then litigate against it regarding what has perished of the cargo. For this reason, the shipping company will be extremely diligent in caring for and preserving the goods. Thus, it (the shipping company) takes what it takes in return for what truly deserves a fee.
The scholars have said that the duty is to construe the transactions of Muslims as valid wherever possible.
Source: Min Thimār al-ʿIlm wa al-Ḥikmah vol.2