Fatwa ID: 03579

Answered by: Alimah Nasima Umm Hamza

Question

Can our masjid use money that we received from an insurance claim?

Can we use that for masjid operations or for expansion?

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

In The Name Of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful

Answer:

Even though it may be permissible to take insurance claim money in certain circumstances, the revenue which insurance comes from in itself is not a pure source. This is because insurance premium essentially is made up of riba, deception and gambling. All of these are not permissible incomes.

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِنَّمَا الْخَمْرُ وَالْمَيْسِرُ وَالْأَنصَابُ وَالْأَزْلَامُ رِجْسٌ مِّنْ عَمَلِ الشَّيْطَانِ فَاجْتَنِبُوهُ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

“O you who have believed, indeed, intoxicants, gambling, [sacrificing on] stone altars, and divining arrows are but defilement from the work of Satan, so avoid it that you may be successful.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 90)

Any money which is used for building mosques should be with pure money so as not to pollute the Houses of Allah (swt), because Allah (swt) does not accept anything except pure things. [1]

The Prophet (pbuh) said-

إِنَّ اللَّهَ طَيِّبٌ يُحِبُّ الطَّيِّبَ

“Indeed Allah is Tayyib (pure and good) and he loves Tayyib (what is pure and good).” (Jaami at-Tirmidhi, hadith number 2799)

In conclusion, insurance money is not pure in origin, hence it should not be used to build mosques with.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Alimah Nasima Umm Hamza

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

[1] Ibn Abideen, Raddul Muhtaar, Volume 1, Page 658