Muslims are very concerned with the ethics of insurance and most non-Muslims find it difficult to understand the Muslim concern with the moral considerations which influence and restrict its acceptance in Islam. This thesis is concerned with insurance in the Islamic world and with an examination of some of the insurance practices in non-Muslim countries which are acceptable in most Islamic countries. The study considers Islamic law, interpretation and practice regarding insurance.
The theoretical aspects covers the following :
(1) Islamic religious foundations, which have a spiritual effect on all Muslim decisions
(2) The examination of the Qudn and Sunna which provide the first two sources of Islamic law.
(3) The prohibition of Ribä (usury) as incompatible with economic justice, also the objection by Muslims to Gharar (risk ) and Qimar (gambling), the legitimate grounds for making money, and achieving harmony between the material and the spiritual
(4) Medieval Christian and Islamic doctrine regarding usury
(5) The understanding and objectives of insurance within Islam and Islamic law (Shariri).
The empirical aspect involves examining the following:
(1) The Prophet Mohammad as a prophet and moral exemplar
(2) The history and background of insurance in the Muslim world
(3) Pr-modern and modern jurists views on insurance
(4) Mutual insurance systems in the West
(5) Case studies of the Islamic financial system
The main contribution of this thesis is to the debate on Islamic insurance and its origins and to provide the theoretical foundations for an insurance system which
reconciles Islamic law with certain forms of insurance services provided in the West. Through promoting the understanding of both systems, it ultimately aims to
develop a constructive and profitable collaboration between them.
Through the critical analysis of the principles and practice of insurance the study will address Muslim objections to insurance, even those of the most literal Muslim jurists, and seek to overcome them.