Fatwa: # 15723
Category: Financial Transactions
Country: South Africa
Date: 6th October 2007

Title

Is the commission that one earns from selling life insurance policies, retirement annuities, etc. considered haraam?

Question

Assalaam mu alaikum

Is the commission that one earns from selling life insurance policies, retirement annuities, etc. considered haraam? Is it permissible for one to work for an insurance consultant as an adminstrator/secretary considering that the main source of income from this business is through commission from promoting and selling such products?

Jazak Allah

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh

Conventional Insurance Policies and Retirement Annuities contain elements of gambling and interest. These are Haraam in our Shariah. It is not permissible to sell, or accept commission on insurance policy sales nor work for a company promoting such products.

And Allah knows best

Wassalam

Mufti Ebrahim Desai
Darul Iftaa

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