Darul Ifta Ibn Masood

Selling Digital Products

· 20 Rabiʻ I 1448 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

I would like to sell digital products such as sheets of tracing arabic alphabets, stories of the Ambiya Alaihimus Salaam, etc. The business is modelled on a person purchasing products from my website and a pdf will be sent to them. They simply download the product in pdf form and print as many as they want. Would this be permissible?

I use Canva Education for designing these resources. Canva have a policy of providing free pro tools to teacher and student. I accessed it via a link that was posted publicly. Is it permissible to use this platform for my business?

Answer

If a digital product is made from something Halaal and does not contain anything impermissible, and it is owned by the seller or sold with the permission of its owner, and the transaction is clear with the buyer receiving exactly what was agreed upon, then it is permissible. If these conditions are not met, then it will not be permissible. As for using the “Canva” link, it will be permissible if permission is granted by the one who shared the link.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

قَوْلُهُ: مَالًا أَوْ لَا) إلَخْ, الْمُرَادُ بِالْمَالِ مَا يَمِيلُ إلَيْهِ الطَّبْعُ وَيُمْكِنُ ادِّخَارُهُ لِوَقْتِ الْحَاجَةِ, وَالْمَالِيَّةُ تَثْبُتُ بِتَمَوُّلِ النَّاسِ كَافَّةً أَوْ بَعْضِهِمْ, وَالتَّقَوُّمُ يَثْبُتُ بِهَا وَبِإِبَاحَةِ الِانْتِفَاعِ بِهِ شَرْعًا, فَمَا يُبَاحُ بِلَا تَمَوُّلٍ لَا يَكُونُ مَالًا كَحَبَّةِ حِنْطَةٍ وَمَا يُتَمَوَّلُ بِلَا إبَاحَةِ انْتِفَاعٍ لَا يَكُونُ مُتَقَوِّمًا كَالْخَمْرِ, وَإِذَا عُدِمَ الْأَمْرَانِ لَمْ يَثْبُتْ وَاحِدٌ مِنْهُمَا كَالدَّمِ بَحْرٌ مُلَخَّصًا عَنْ الْكَشْفِ الْكَبِيرِ.

(رد المحتار على الدر المختار 4/501)

Answered by
Mufti Muhammad Isa Ali
Checked & approved by
Mufti Yacoob Vally Saheb
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Source: Darul Ifta Ibn Masood — https://fataawa.co.za/selling-digital-products/
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