Can any Ulama or students of knowledge explain why purchasing a warranty at the time of buying the item is permissible, but purchasing it afterwards would be considered insurance and hence impermissible?
What is the shar’i principle here that makes the former halal and latter haraam? Why is the former purchase of warranty considered “part of the item” and the latter “separate insurance”?
Bismillahi Ta’ala
Walaikum Assalam Warahmatullah
There is a difference of opinion on this matter.
a. Those scholars who do not permit it mutlaqan (unconditionally) say that even though multiple items are collated on the receipt for one payment, the itemized products may very well be separate products. One test for this could be to approach the company later on and tell them to cancel the warranty alone. This will help assess if the warranty was indeed a separate product, or an addition dependent-on the main product.
Similarly, these scholars who say that this added warranty is NOT in the same state as the attached warranty of the product itself. So upon return of the original item, the warranty will not be returned in total.
b. The scholars who give permission to buy that additional warranty at the time of purchase of the product say that the additional warranty is tabi’ (in the following of) the original item that you have purchased, which if done at the time of purchase is like buying the item which happens to be at higher price wherein that additional warranty is simply part of the the original warranty of the product.
My opinion is that due to the difference of opinion, caution is not to engage in such additional warranties at all. Since separate purchase of it is by ittifaq impermissible, and buying at the time of purchase of original item is mukhtalaf feeh, hence taqwa and mustahab to come out of the difference.
Wallahu A’lam
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Faisal al-Mahmudi