Fatwa ID: 08684

 

 

Answered by: Mufti Sheik Abdel Ahad Imrit

 

Question:

Is a death committee allowed in Islam? The idea is that one pays a certain amount each year towards funeral costs as a member for an entire family.

 

With the following Conditions:

 

• Membership will be £10, monthly fees will be £20. The annual fee will be £40, in case of crisis i.e. Lack of funds in the accounts.

 

• Emergency collection will take place and members will be obliged to pay whatever reasonable amount suggested by the committee.

 

• – It is the responsibility of the father to register his 18-year-old son to the committee immediately on his 18th birthday.

 

• In the event of an unregistered person’s death, the committee will not be responsible for the funeral costs.

 

• Time limit of 2 months will given to  the father to register his 18yr old son, failure to do so will result in the father’s membership being cancelled.

 

• The committee may not reinstate such member back into the scheme unless he himself pays £50 fine, £10 joining fee and £40 annual fee for each year missed. Failure to pay on time ( every January and and every July) will result in a £5 fine per month per person  Membership will be cancelled after 2 months of missed payments.

 

• If for example we opt out of the committee after some time we will not be refunded for the amount we have paid.

 

• If the person was a member and died abroad they will pay the next of kin £1500 even if the amount was greater than this.

 

• In the event of the remains going to Pakistan the committee will pay for the air cargo for the remains and a one way ticket for the next of kin

 

• In the case of members having more than one wife the committee will only pay the costs for one family, or get separate policies for each wife
  

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

 

Answer:

 

This type of death committee takes a fine for late payment which falls under the definition of riba. In Shariah, riba refers to any conditional excess in exchange of a deferred payment or any excess in wealth or benefit which is conditioned in the business transaction and is not in lieu of anything.

 

Having said so, this death committee is not suitable. Hereunder is an example of how it should operate. This type of fund must operate under the following conditions:

1) The 100 pounds each one contributes must be considered as lillah.

 

2) The money collected must be handed to one or more people who will be the representatives of all donors. These must be trustable and reliable people who are accountable for the money in their possession. To ensure protection of the funds it must be stipulated that they deposit the money in a bank, preferably an Islamic bank.

 

3) As long as the money is in their possession it will remain the ownership of the donors. That means that at any stage if any family wants their money back, it must be given to them.

 

4) The representatives can be mandated to spend the money on the funeral costs of the families who donated.

 

An alternative to the above is that each family donates 500 pounds. Take the total sum and purchase a property and then make the property waqf. The beneficiaries of the income of this waqf will be the 100 families who contributed money. A condition to be added here is that when these 100 families and their descendants are no more living then the beneficiaries of the waqf will be the poor. If this option is chosen, then obtain further details and finality from your local ulema. [ https://islamqa.org/hanafi/askmufti/44806/death-committees/]

 

 

 

 

References:

 

«شرح الزيادات – قاضي خان» (3/ 814):

«الربا: الفضل والزيادة، وشرعًا: وهو فضل ‌خالٍ ‌عن ‌عوض بمعيار شرعي مشروط لأحد المتعاقدين في معارضة. (التمرتاشي، القاموس الفقهي 143)»

 

«شرح الوقاية – ت أبو الحاج» (4/ 53):

«هو فضلٌ ‌خالٍ ‌عن ‌عوضٍ شُرِطَ لأحدِ العاقدينِ في المعاوضة»

 

«فتح باب العناية بشرح النقاية» (2/ 356):

«تعالى: {وَمَا آتَيتُمْ مِنْ رباً لِيَرْبُوَا في أمْوَالِ النَّاسِ فَلَا يَرْبُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ} ، وسُمِّيَ المكان المرتفع رَبوةً لفضله على سائر البقاع.

وشرعاً: (فَضْلٌ ‌خَالٍ ‌عَنْ ‌عِوَضٍ) أي لا يقابله عوض في معاوضة مالٍ بمالٍ»

 

«فتح باب العناية بشرح النقاية» (2/ 356):

«تعالى: {وَمَا آتَيتُمْ مِنْ رباً لِيَرْبُوَا في أمْوَالِ النَّاسِ فَلَا يَرْبُوا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ} ، وسُمِّيَ المكان المرتفع رَبوةً لفضله على سائر البقاع.

وشرعاً: (فَضْلٌ ‌خَالٍ ‌عَنْ ‌عِوَضٍ) أي لا يقابله عوض في معاوضة مالٍ بمالٍ وَالْبُيُوعُ الْفَاسِدَةُ فَكُلُّهَا مِنْ الرِّبَا فَيَجِبُ رَدُّ عَيْنِ الرِّبَا لَوْ قَائِمًا لَا رَدُّ ضَمَانِهِ لِأَنَّهُ يُمْلَكُ بِالْقَبْضِ قُنْيَةٌ وَبَحْرٌ (خَالٍ عَنْ عِوَضٍ)

 

 

 

 

Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.

Written by Mufti Sheik Abdel Ahad Imrit

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham