Regarding the fellowship and solidarity funds where subscribers pay annual or monthly premiums in return for receiving an agreed upon amount in case of death, total or partial disability, are they lawful or forbidden?

All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alyhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

It is permissible to establish a cooperative and solidarity fund from which the participants benefit in case of death, total or partial disability, or an accident that befalls any one of them. The fund must be governed with the standards of the Sharee‘ah, and thus it must be void of unfairness to anyone, and it must not be invested or exploited in what is forbidden by Allaah The Almighty.

Furthermore, the fund must be based on the principles that make it dissimilar to gambling. It must show the spirit of cooperation, compassion, and social solidarity, so as to prevent dispute or disagreement among the participants over entitlement and the like.

The following are principles that would achieve these purposes:

Allaah Knows best.