Is It Permissible to Have Redundant Components for Safety Measures?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
I wonder if the disallowance of extravagance and redundancy also applies to safety, such as building airplanes. Airplanes are extremely safe because of the immense amount of safety features. One of many is that if one of the systems fails, there’s another independent backup of this system, and if this one fails, there’s another one. So is it regarded as extravagant to have so many safety features even if the purpose is to ensure the safety of the passengers onboard?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
I pray you are in good faith and health. Thank you for your question.
It is permissible to have these types of redundant components for safety measures, and they will not be considered extravagant, especially in the case of airplanes and anything where the lives of human beings can be at risk. In this case, there is a risk of 100s of human beings.
Islam guarantees the right to life for every person, whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Every human life is sacred in Islam, and every person has been granted God-given fundamental and universal rights at the time of their birth.
Allah Most High says, “We have certainly dignified the children of Adam and carried them on land and sea and provided for them of the good things and preferred them over much of what We have created with definite preference.” [Quran, 17:70]
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel is a traditionally-trained scholar who has studied in the UK, India, Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, and Turkey. He started his early education in the UK. He went on to complete the hifz of the Quran in India, then enrolled in an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied the secular and ‘Aalimiyya sciences. He then traveled to Karachi, Pakistan. He has been an Imam in Rep of Ireland for several years. He has taught hifz of the Quran, Tajwid, Fiqh, and many other Islamic sciences to children and adults onsite and online extensively in the UK and Ireland. He taught at a local Islamic seminary for 12 years in the UK, where he was a librarian and a teacher of Islamic sciences. He currently resides in the UK with his wife. His interest is a love of books and gardening.
