Takāful[1] is presented as a mutual, Sharīʿa-compliant alternative to commercial insurance, legitimized by mid-20th-century scholarly deliberations that endorsed mutual insurance, permissible. The first takāful company, founded in Sudan in 1979[2], introduced a hybrid structure combining mutualist principles with joint-stock frameworks: unlike traditional mutual insurers, where members are both insured and co-owners, takāful companies separate management and risk-sharing, with companies acting as external administrators. Meanwhile, this model has been formally regulated in many Muslim countries. Despite this innovative hybridization, the question persists: can takāful companies genuinely be considered mutual insurers? This article critically assesses their structural and ethical alignment with mutualist principles. While national laws may differ in certain aspects, the underlying philosophy of both takāful and mutual insurance remains consistent: policyholders and shareholders qualities are combined or separated, affecting the entity’s legal characteristics (legal form, purpose, etc.). Although the analysis could be conducted without reference to any national application of mutual insurance, the French mutual model is used here as a key reference point, given its formative influence on takāful’s emergence.