السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
1. Funds received from a pension scheme may be divided into 3 distinct categories:
A. the portion that was subtracted from the employee’s salary;
B. the portion that was contributed by the employer;
C. the portion that came about through growth from the investment of the above two categories.
2. Categories A and B (i.e. the portion subtracted from the employee’s salary, and the portion contributed by the employer) are completely pure and above question—and therefore good enough for Ḥajj.
3. In consideration of the fact that investment would have been made in both acceptable and unacceptable companies/areas, Category C (the portion that resulted from growth on investment) may be assumed to contain both pure and impure returns on investment.
4. The pure returns on investment would certainly be good enough for Ḥajj.
5. Scholarly opinion differs on the part of return on investment that resulted from investment into unacceptable companies (eg SA Breweries):
5.1 One opinion regards it as ḥarām funds that should not be used for Ḥajj or anything else, and must be disposed of in charity.
5.2 A second opinion deems it as acceptable, for reasons which we will not go into for the present moment.
6. If the second opinion were to be followed, then the entire pension payout may be regarded as pure, and therefore good enough for Ḥajj.
7. But since this is a matter of Ḥajj where one desires the greatest amount of purity and certainty, our advice is that you set aside a discretionary percentage (5%, for example) as the possibly tainted portion of the entire payout, and give this away in charity.
8. What remains will then be considered ḥalāl and pure, and therefore good enough for Ḥajj.
والله تعالى أعلم
And Allah knows best
(Issued: June 2016)
