Answered by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari
I bought an insurance policy 20 yrs back and it is maturing now. The company has calculated a certain sum which will be paid to me on top of the sum I was insured for (premium)- I do not consider it as halal. I have two options a. do not accept the premium and leave it with the insurance company b. take the premium and give it to an under construction mosque. I know I wont be benefited by donating to the mosque but at least it will be utilised for a better purpose- the apparent drawback would be that I will be ACCEPTING the money from the insurance company which I consider is riba. Please advise.
In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,
The excess amount received above the initial premium is, as rightly pointed out by yourself, unlawful and not permissible to use. You should not leave this amount in the insurance company, rather take it and then give it to the extremely needy and poor. It should not be given for the construction of a Masjid. Disposing of unlawful money has been explained in many earlier posts. [See archives at www.sunnipath.com]
And Allah knows best
Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari