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What is the ruling on insuring goods imported to and exported from Morocco, or insuring exchange rates, or against non-payment by the customer, or on the goods themselves when displayed, in the absence of Islamic insurance companies?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Commercial insurance is forbidden because it involves gambling (qimar) and excessive uncertainty (gharar). The person paying the insurance company risks either losing the paid money or taking more than they paid, and this is the gambling (maysir) that Allah has forbidden in the Qur'an (Al-Ma'idah/90, 91). Contemporary scholars have issued fatwas prohibiting commercial insurance because it is a type of gambling. In "Fatawa of the Permanent Committee" (15/297), it states that it is not permissible to insure oneself, one's limbs, or one's property because it is a form of forbidden commercial insurance. Sheikh Ibn Uthaymeen said that insurance is considered a form of gambling (maysir) that Allah has forbidden, as it oscillates between gain and loss, affirming that insurance based on uncertainty (gharar) is forbidden due to the Prophet's prohibition of gharar sales. If you are compelled to pay insurance and an accident occurs, it is permissible to take only an amount equivalent to the paid premiums. Any excess should be donated to charitable causes if you are forced to take it.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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