Insurance

Insurance, in its various forms and manifestations, has become a conspicuous hallmark of our age. Hardly does a person take a step in his life but that he encircles it with some layer of insurance: health insurance, life insurance, property insurance, accident insurance—even insurance for companies that themselves issue insurance policies! It is as though people have surrounded themselves, their possessions, their dreams, and even their fears with a fragile web of guarantees, imagining that these can ward off the misfortunes of time and the vicissitudes of days.

This phenomenon has arisen only from an excessive fear that has taken hold of souls and dominated minds. By his innate weakness, man fears the unknown, his chest constricts at what tomorrow may conceal for him, and he seeks a lifeline to which he may cling, supposing it will repel calamities, block disasters, and protect him from loss. Yet he fails to realise that this fear, when it seizes him, gives birth in his heart to an illusion frailer than a spider’s web, called “absolute security.”

Careful reflection and thorough examination of this phenomenon reveal another face—one more perilous and far-reaching than mere reliance on material means. It is a face that contributes to the weakening of man in ways he does not perceive, undermining his inner structure and stripping him of the greatest strength God granted him: reliance upon Him and seeking His help.

Man was created surrounded by risks, and these risks are not absolute evil; rather, they are part of life’s order and the law of existence. Through them man is nurtured, by confronting them his character is refined, his resolve tested, and the qualities of courage, caution, patience, and sound judgment are cultivated within him. Whoever does not face risks does not know the meaning of strength; and whoever does not experience pain does not taste the sweetness of perseverance.

But what remains of that strength when a person leans upon a printed piece of paper, a legal clause, or a sum of money, thinking these capable of shielding him from God’s decree and destiny? What remains of a person’s courage when he hands over his affair to insurance companies and restrains his heart from reliance upon the Ever-Living Who never dies?

Excessive dependence upon insurance weakens not just the body but also the soul; it stifles the flame of faith, rendering a person captive to the illusion of security, heedless of the reality that the true Protector, the sole Provider, and the supreme Disposer of affairs is Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Our Lord, Exalted be He, has said in His decisive revelation: “And whoever puts his trust in Allah, He is sufficient for him”—meaning He is his sufficiency, his supporter, and his protector, even if the whole world were to gather against him.

A person’s strength is not measured by the insurance policies he possesses, nor by the documents he uses to safeguard his property; it is measured by the degree of certainty that fills his heart, the bond with God that strengthens his spirit, and the readiness with which he faces destiny—with sincere faith, prudent thought, and unyielding will.

This is not to suggest, however, a call to inaction or to abandoning the means; such is neither of the religion, nor of reason, nor of the wisdom of life. Rather, we say: let insurance be a means, not an end; let it serve as material assistance, not a substitute for reliance upon God. Let us avoid exaggeration and excessiveness in matters of insurance, and let a person remain mindful that his supreme guarantee is not found in a document signed by a company, but in a heart connected to its Lord, a mind that plans wisely, and a body unafraid to face the days.

Thus—and only thus—is the strong human being formed: strong in faith, firm in will, steadfast in facing hardships; one who is not beguiled by illusions, not enfeebled by means, nor severed from his Lord. Rather, he makes every fear a rung upon which he climbs towards reliance, and every trial a gate through which he passes to strength and certainty.

Disclaimer: This article was translated by AI. Original post: https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/6334