Re: Retirement account and buying car
For certain qualified expenses (hardships are part of that) Yes. You can withdraw for anything else by paying a 10% penalty, but people generally don't do that.
You can stop contributing to 401(K) at anytime. So if you at some point reach a conclusion that you've socked away enough, or that your current demand is more than future demand for money, just stop additional contributions.
BTW from the sound of it zakat will likely be tax deductible as long as it is donated to qualified charities. That should put more money in the tax payer's pockets
Peace StirCrasy
Yes ... so people need to consider all of these things also when taking out a 401K ... Again I would plan up to may be a year in advance for major expenses and try to use live cash to control my affairs. As for retirement agreed people may stop putting into the account depending on how much they would need. That is a difficult art to perfect it does seem to be less materialistic than the original concept and I guess people may use low risk investments as a basis for their returns.
Furthermore scholars have given it the acceptance provided zakat is paid on it.
I guess I'll see my position through as much as I can by not taking out any such fund because I think it is better.