Shariah Status of Medical Insurance

Bima

The translation of “Medical Insurance” is: Medical Assurance, Insurance is also called “Bima” in Hindi, so the translation would be “Tabi Bima”. There is an agreement between the common man and the insurance company to pay a fixed amount in the event of an unknown loss, the fixed amount is paid in lump sum or in installments, this is called premium. (Urdu Da’irat Maarif Islamia 4/456 Lahore).

Background

During sea voyages, merchants used to collect money among themselves with the title that if someone had an accident, his loss would be compensated from it, its date is said to be 1547. Life, property, organs, valuable documents, certificates and liabilities are insured, here we are talking about medical insurance.

 Nowadays, on the one hand, there is a multitude of diseases, on the other hand, treatments are becoming expensive, the cost is unbearable for every person. Especially in diseases of the upper limbs and cancer, the cost is unbearable to an indescribable extent; That is why medical insurance is becoming popular; but the world is ruled by the “capitalist system”, the nature of interest is dominant in every form of economy, thinkers think only from the point of view of interest.

Only interest forms come to the fore; even if there is an apparent aspect of cooperation in it, this is the reason why among the forms of insurance there is perhaps no such form to which interest or gambling or both do not apply; the same reason exists in medical insurance; therefore, in normal circumstances, medical insurance is illegal; because if an illness occurs within a limited period, the money is received with interest and if the illness does not occur, the deposited money is not returned and thus the definition of gambling comes true.

The solution to medical insurance is not to identify what is permissible in the prevailing forms, or to adopt what is forbidden through tricks; rather, scholars, leaders of the nation and well-wishers should sit together and find an alternative form for it. It is not difficult to prepare an alternative through national organizations. In South India, some non-Muslim leaders have established free medical institutions and they treat everyone, regardless of religion, for free; while the concept of the afterlife in their religion is completely vague and like a mirage, yet they run large-scale institutions with the cooperation of the wealthy people of their religion.

 Muslims have a concept of the afterlife, they have a passion for spending and a proud courage to help the needy; therefore, it is necessary for Muslims to have an institution that provides treatment for these diseases to the needy completely free of charge and makes arrangements to save Muslims from death. After all, are religious schools providing education completely free of charge to fulfill religious needs?  Are national organizations working for the nation’s benefit by spending a lot of money? If you think about it, an alternative to insurance can come to the fore. The task is certainly difficult; but not impossible.

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The Shariah Status of Medical Insurance

Since medical insurance is both usury and gambling; therefore, it is unlawful to use it in normal circumstances, as it involves profiting more than the accumulated installments, which is usury, and if you do not fall ill within the prescribed period, the money is not returned; therefore, it is gambling, and the aspect of ownership over risk is dominant. The aspect of cooperation is not at all present in non-governmental companies and there is some in government companies; but due to the initially collected premium, it also falls within the scope of usury; therefore, it is unlawful cooperation.

Medical Insurance in Legal Compulsion

If one has to take out medical insurance due to legal compulsion, then there is scope for it; but only to the extent of compulsion. The rule in Al-Ishbah and Al-Nada’ir is: What is permitted for necessity is determined as much as possible.

 That is: What is brought into the realm of justification due to compulsion is considered limited to the extent of that compulsion.

And if the condition is met and there is a case of benefit, then it is permissible for the person who is compelled to benefit more than the accumulated amount, and it is not permissible for those who are able to do so to benefit more than the accumulated amount (Fatawa Uthmani 3/314). And if he benefits, then it will be necessary to give that amount in charity, without any reward.

Should the insurance company pay the cost of treatment to the hospital or to the patient?

 Sometimes, when an illness occurs, the “medical insurance company” pays the cost of treatment directly to the designated hospital, and does not pay it to the insured patient. This is also not permissible; because the hospital’s possession is within the patient’s authority to possess it, as if the hospital is the patient’s lawyer, and the lawyer’s possession is called the client’s possession.

 And if it pays it directly to the patient, it is still unlawful, that is, if the patient is able to afford it, it is not permissible to take this additional amount, he can only take the amount that he has collected.

If it is lawful for an employee to have insurance

In some countries, medical insurance is mandatory for employees; but sometimes the premium amount is deducted from the employee’s salary and sometimes the companies collect the premium on their own behalf, so the ruling on the two cases will be different.  That is, if the employee’s salary is deducted according to his will, then the definition of interest will be valid and profit will be illegal, and if the company pays, the definition of interest will not be valid; therefore, the employee will benefit.

Medical package of hospitals

 Nowadays, some hospitals issue medical packages for a specified period and people who accept this package pay a specified amount, sometimes in installments, sometimes in one lump sum. If a person falls ill, the hospital bears all his medical expenses and if he does not fall ill, that money is lost, it is not returned. The above-mentioned case is also of interest and gambling; therefore, it is illegal.

Medical insurance for the poor by the government

Nowadays, governments take a small amount from the poor and get their medical insurance and give them a card, through which they are entitled to treatment by specified doctors here and in specified hospitals.              

Regarding this, it is submitted that the Sharia has made many provisions for the poor and needy; therefore, there is no doubt about its validity; even though the treatment is truly beyond the means of the poor.