each member contributes two percent of his salary or other earnings, and the fund is set aside to cover the needs and misfortunes that may befall any one of them.
This practice is rooted in the hadith of Abu Musa—may Allah be pleased with him—mentioned earlier. Therefore, if people establish a fund of this sort to help one another face life’s calamities and accidents, it has a basis in the Sunnah and is perfectly legitimate.
That said, we must note that such a fund can serve two distinct purposes: it may assist the person upon whom a mishap falls, or it may assist the person from whom the mishap originates.
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The first case: the fund is set up to help those on whom disasters strike—such as calamities that wipe out their crops or livestock, torrential rains that demolish their homes, or vehicular accidents caused by others. These people need support, and assisting them is commendable and unproblematic.
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The second case: the fund is meant for incidents caused by the individual himself—say, he runs someone over or the like—and he is then aided. This requires careful consideration. If we create a fund for this purpose, reckless people may grow even more heedless, unconcerned about the accidents they cause. Should we nonetheless establish such a fund, it must only be after a thorough review of the incident: examining in depth whether the person’s conduct showed no recklessness or negligence. Otherwise, it is improper to maintain funds that bail out such foolish individuals—one day running someone over, another day crashing a car, and so on—perhaps while in an unfit state such as drunkenness, or