Is It Halal for a Doctor to Move Abroad for Better Financial Stability?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
As a young doctor from a lower-middle-class background in Pakistan, can I move to the US for better financial stability? If so, would my earnings be halal, given the insurance-based healthcare system?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate
The general legal ruling in conventional insurance is that it is impermissible. However, esteemed Muftis and scholars have said there are exceptions: a) when the law requires insurance to use a certain commodity, such as a car, and b) in situations where not having insurance would result in significant hardship, such as medical insurance in America.
Is Migration Permissible?
It is permissible to migrate to non-Muslim lands, provided that one can practice one’s religion freely and is committed to ensuring that one’s children learn and practice it as well.
Allah Most High destine what is good for you. Pray istikhara for guidance and need on emigrating and ask Allah Most High to destine what is good (khayr) for you.
Related
– How Does One Perform The Prayer Of Need (Salat al-Haja)?
– Istikhara: The Prayer of Seeking Guidance
– Are Conventional Insurances Impermissible?
– Is it Permissible to Move from a Muslim Country to a Non-Muslim Country?
– Migration
I pray this helps answer your question.
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Presently, he lives in the UK with his wife and is interested in books and gardening.
