What is the shariah compliant status of Takafol Insurance currently being offered in South Africa?
First National Bank has an account called Million A Month Account where, for each R100 that you deposit you stand a chance to win a monthly cash prize, best prize being R1 million. There are no fees on this account, neither does FNB give any interest. All the money that you deposit is still yours, like any savings account. The only obligation is that if you wish to withdraw your funds you have to give FNB 30 days notice. Is it permissible to participate in such an activity?
Has Wesbank’s Islamic Finance been sanctioned by the Ulama? If yes, please direct me to a contact number/address where I can obtain info on the exact workings of this scheme.
1. Kindly refer our standard reply below.
2. We have discussed the Takafol product with their Shari’ah advisers and they have been cooperative in making some changes. The only outstanding issue is some concerns of other Ulama. We want to consider the concerns of the other Ulama before adopting an official position.
3. In respect to Wesbank, we have been involved with them for over two years. They have acknowledged that the delay was from their side, and have undertaken to speed up things. At present, we are still waiting for Wesbank to revert to us.
and Allah Ta’ala Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai
FATWA DEPT
1. Shari’ah has granted a leeway to use a conventional bank based on need and necessity. It is not permissible to use the bank facility beyond one’s need.
2. If one opened up a savings account in FNB due to need and necessity and he won a draw without him paying a fee to qualify for the draw, that will not be regarded as gambling.
3. We note that FNB has named this savings account Million Rand a month Account. Obviously, this is an advert and the underlying factor of opening the savings account is the possibility of winning a million rand. It is not appropriate for a Muslim to open a savings account solely for this purpose.