Can a takaful company reinsure with a reinsurance company?

Insurance is an important mechanism of risk management. However, due to the existence of Islamically unacceptable elements in its operation such as riba, gharar and maysir, insurance is considered prohibited. An Islamic alternative to insurance is takaful whose operations are based on Islamic acceptable contracts such as tabarruʹ, mudaraba, wakala and waqf. Considering the technical similarities of takaful and insurance, a takaful company similarly needs reinsurance facilities, which in this case must be provided by retakaful companies. In the early stage of takaful business, reinsurance facilities for takaful companies were predominantly provided by reinsurance companies. The practice continues to be acceptable by some Muslim scholars based on the argument of unavoidable circumstances or darura, among which is the inadequate number of retakaful companies. Some scholars, however, believe that takaful operators are not in need of reinsurance. This article looks at the issue of whether the argument of darura on the use of reinsurance facilities in takaful business still holds some ground. This paper shall also discuss the Shariʹa view on the practice of reinsurance by takaful companies to provide better understanding of the subject.