Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen

Reason for the impermissibility of copyright

· 29 Rabiʻ II 1441 AH1 min readEnglish

Question

Why is it not permissible to stop people from making and selling pirate copies of CD’s which have a copyright? If they are not stopped, the original person who worked and made the CD will lose a lot of money.

Answer

When a person purchases an item, he becomes the complete owner of the item. Once he has become the complete owner of the item, he has the full right to deal in it as he wishes. It is not permissible for the seller or anyone else to place restrictions on him in regard to how he should deal in that which belongs to him. Hence it is not permissible for the seller to prevent the purchaser from producing copies of the purchased item on account of copyright.

And Allah Ta'ala (الله تعالى) knows best.

References (Arabic / Urdu sources)

وأما حكمه فثبوت الملك في المبيع للمشتري وفي الثمن للبائع إذا كان البيع باتا (الفتاوى الهندية 3/3)

الحقوق المجردة لا يجوز الاعتياض عنها كحق الشفعة (الأشباه والنظائر 2/153)

وفي الأشباه لا يجوز الاعتياض عن الحقوق المجردة كحق الشفعة وعلى هذا لا يجوز الاعتياض عن الوظائف بالأوقاف وفيها في آخر بحث تعارض العرف مع اللغة المذهب عدم اعتبار العرف الخاص لكن أفتى كثير باعتباره وعليه فيفتى بجواز النزول عن الوظائف بمال (الدر المختار 4/518)

Answered by
Mufti Zakaria Makada
Checked & approved by
Mufti Ebrahim Salejee (Isipingo Beach)
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Questions about this ruling, answered only from the archive with sources.

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Source: Mufti Online — Madrasah Ta'leemuddeen — https://muftionline.co.za/node/30922
Fatawa SA: https://fatawa.co.za/fatwa/muftionline-30922

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