Question
I am a senior in Pakistan. I want to pursue a career in Actuarial sciences, but i m not sure if it is Islamic or not. It has to do with calculating probabilities and assessing risks. But since everything is in Allah’s power what’s the point of doing so.
Also I want to ask about accountancy. Accountants also calculate interest and even the calculator of interest is committing a sin.
I asked a scholar about the issue and he said that if none of the Muslims chose these professions there will be no hope for betterment in these fields and no one will be able to devise systems better suited for Muslims. I agree with him but it leaves a lot of responsibility on Muslims who chose these careers. And if I end up working for an insurance company I wouldn’t actually be fulfilling my responsibility.
Answer
It is not accurate to say a career is Islamic or non-Islamic. It is the content and the conditions of a career that might be seen as against Islamic rules and values.
It is of course true that every thing is in Allah’s hands. However don’t you think that all these sophisticated but rational and beautifully put together mathematical relationships (related to risk assessment, etc.) are also tools that Allah has provided for us so that we could make our life easier?
Before the battle of Badr, the Prophet consulted the companions to see what position would be the best position for the army of Islam. Don’t you see aspects of risk assessment in this?
In fact, by definition, we always do risk assessments in our daily life. When one takes some extra cash or a spare shirt or some pills with oneself in a travel this is because of the risk assessment one has done. The thing is these routine risk assessments are based on very simple qualitative analysis that takes place in our minds. It is interesting that when the analysis takes the form of a quantitative one and the simple techniques are replaced by more advanced ones, only then questions like these start to rise.
Risk assessment does not mean that we do not appreciate that every thing is in Allah’s power. It only means that we are using the tools that Allah has provided for us to be able to cope better with what might happen in future (which in turn is of course in Allah’s hands).
Of course a person because of his/her own personal relationship with Allah might prefer not to get engaged with technical risk assessment (as user or facilitator). A person might think that this much detailed risk assessment and prevention measures are more than what he considers to be a reasonable and necessary preparation and assessment from his part before relying on God and being satisfied with his decisions. This is, of course, an admirable thought but it is a personal choice and cannot be seen as obligation or even a recommendation.
Calculating the interest, if it is for insurance company, can not be seen as a sin in our opinion. Please see the following answer for our opinion with regard to Insurance business:
The Islamic Point of View Regarding Insurance
Abdullah Rahim
May 2, 2005