6829 – 0218
Question:
Assalaamu Alaykum Wa Rahmahtullah.
Hope mufti Sahib is well.
Mufti I have a few questions:
1. Is copyright allowed and a valid condition to be made?
2. Can I design a book for someone and make a condition that those illustrations cannot be changed? So, it is their book I have designed but they cannot take it to another graphic designer who will then be able to make a few edits and call it theirs.
3. Does making this condition render the entire sale faasid?
4. I understand that by them paying me for the design, they have to become the owner of something – because they paid. So is it haram then to say that they are my illustrations?
Answer:
As salām ʿalaikum wa raḥmatullāhī wa barakātuhu
In the Name of Allāh, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
- It is permissible for an author to reserve all rights to their book and to stipulate their work to be copyright.
- If the illustration is cited as copyright, a condition that the illustrations may not be changed will be included by default. The purchaser may not alter the illustration. However, this infringement only occurs when someone reproduces the illustration on a large scale for commercial use or profit. If someone copies it for personal use then this is not an infringement.
- Stipulating such a condition will not render the sale invalid.
- It will not be ḥarām to state the illustrations to be yours.
We have reproduced detailed discussions of our seniors on the issue of copyright below.
Fatāwā Raḥīmiyyah
Mufti ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Lājpūrī رحمه الله has discussed the issue of copyright in his Fatāwā Raḥīmiyyah. Hereunder is a translated summary of the fatwā:
This issue is one of ijtihād and qiyās, as printing technology did not exist in the early generations (of Islām), nor was there any conception of it being linked to financial benefit. Therefore, there is no explicit ruling in early texts regarding this matter.
However, even if we assume that the right of printing (ḥaqq al-ṭibāʿah) is not considered wealth (māl) and is originally permissible for public use, if a book is associated with the author’s financial benefit or commercial interest, then it is not permissible for just anyone to print it without the author’s permission.
This is because certain actions may be permissible in essence, but if they involve infringing someone else’s right or cause harm, then their permissibility no longer holds, and they become prohibited in Sharīʿah. For example:
- It is permissible for any eligible Muslim man to propose marriage to a suitable Muslim woman. However, if someone has already proposed, and there is an inclination on the part of the guardians, no one else may propose until she explicitly declines.
“The Prophetﷺ forbade a man from proposing over the proposal of his brother.”
- If someone has negotiated a price, then a third person may not bid over it.
- Everyone has the right to climb to their roof and enjoy the breeze, but if that leads to a violation of others’ privacy, then that right is nullified.
(Kifāyat al-Muftī)
- In a mosque, any spot is generally open to worshippers. However, if someone sits in a spot and leaves a cloth there to temporarily step away, then others are not allowed to take that place. Once a person has taken a spot, it is no longer open for others to occupy it.
Al-ʿAllāmah al-Shāmī elaborates in the chapter “What Invalidates Salah” under the section “Whoever’s hand reaches a permissible thing first” that when a permissible thing becomes associated with someone’s right, it ceases to be permissible for others.
Author’s Right Over Their Work
A book that is the result of the author’s relentless hard work is primarily the author’s right to print. In addition to spreading knowledge, the book is often tied to the author’s financial benefit. Hence, as long as that right remains, others cannot claim entitlement to it.
Book dealers who print an author’s work without permission, despite the author already printing a sufficient number of copies, are clearly aiming to capitalize on the book’s popularity for commercial profit. Their excuse that they are “serving knowledge” is unacceptable—because if they were genuinely concerned with knowledge and its dissemination, they would have purchased the book in bulk from the author and distributed it to the needy for free, thereby gaining reward.
Is It Permissible to Take Compensation for Printing Rights?
Among abstract rights (ḥuqūq mujarradah), those not linked to any financial benefit or unable to generate wealth—such as those granted merely to prevent harm—cannot be compensated for.
Example:
The right of pre-emption (ḥaqq al-shufʿah)—granted to protect the neighbor from harm—is not eligible for compensation.
However, some rights are linked to financial gain, whether current or future—such as royal privileges or titles. These can be sold or relinquished for compensation.
Example:
Sayyidunā Ḥasan t surrendered his claim to the caliphate in favour of Muʿāwiyah t and accepted compensation.
(al-Ashyāʾ wa al-Naẓāʾir by al-Ḥamawī)
Business Names and Goodwill
People have the right to choose unique names for their businesses, commonly referred to today as “goodwill.”
If a person names their business ‘‘Gulshan-e-Adab’ and builds a commercial identity and financial interest with that name, others have no right to use that name.
Since the name becomes tied to financial benefit, charging compensation for goodwill is permissible.
(Ḥawādith al-Fatāwā)
Conclusion: Copyrights and Financial Benefit
When the right to print a book is linked to the author’s current or future financial benefit, then this right is established inherently and may be sold or transferred.
In today’s world—with the explosion of distribution methods, modern transportation, and widespread publishing tools, combined with a lack of support or encouragement for authors—it is not misery or stinginess to protect printing rights.
Rather, it is a means of preserving and developing valuable literature.
Jadīd Fiqhī Mabāḥith
Mawlāna Khālid Sayf Allāh Raḥmānī حفظه الله has discussed the issue of The Sale of Rights in a great deal of detail. Hereunder is a translated summary of a portion of his research paper as well as a summary of the decision of the Islamic Fiqh Academy, India.
Copyright and Publishing Rights
The buying and selling of copyrights, invention rights, and printing rights are now legally recognized and have become widespread customary practice across the world.
Mufti Taqi Usmani has established a Sharʿī basis for this by citing the ḥadīth from Sunan Abū Dāwūd:
“Whoever gets to something first that no other Muslim has reached, it becomes his property.” (Abū Dāwūd)
This indicates that:
- Such rights are permissible in Sharīʿah,
- They are beneficial,
- Their trade is commonplace and accepted,
- And therefore, their sale is valid.
This view is supported by many senior contemporary scholars and jurists, including:
Mufti Kifāyatullāh, Mufti ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Lājpūrī, and Mufti Niẓām al-Dīn رحمهم الله
Objections to the Sale of Copyrights and Intellectual Rights
Some scholars who object to the sale of such rights present the following arguments:
- These rights are not tangible (ʿaynī); they are abstract and thus cannot be sold.
- A buyer of a book or object has complete rights to benefit from it—including reproducing or reprinting it.
- Restricting the printing of books is akin to concealing knowledge (kitmān al-ʿilm).
- The sale contradicts the ḥadīth:
“The Prophet ﷺ forbade the sale and gifting of walāʾ (patronage).”
- The Prophetﷺ forbade the sale of ṣakkāk, government-issued permits. This is likened to the sale of entitlements (Bayʿ al-Barāʾāt), as noted in al-Durr al-Mukhtār and al-Shāmī.
- Ḥadīth narrators prohibited taking compensation, so taking money for printing religious books is similarly impermissible.
- Some argue that once a book enters someone’s ownership, it becomes mubāḥ (permissible), and the owner may use it however they like.
Response to These Objections
Each of these objections has been addressed:
- Tangible Condition (ʿAyn):
The requirement of something being “ʿayn” (a physical object) was only to ensure it is storable, not necessarily material. Rights are now preserved and protected through legal registration.
- Ownership vs. Reproduction:
Owning a book allows one to benefit from it—but reproducing it in a way that harms the original author is impermissible.
Mufti Taqi Usmani rightly stated:
“One can own a coin—but cannot legally mint coins from it. Similarly, postal stamps or government-issued tickets cannot be duplicated, as this causes harm.”
- Not Kitmān al-ʿIlm:
Restricting printing is not concealment of knowledge. If that were the case, then:
- Every person should be allowed to teach any book in a madrasah,
- Any student should be taught regardless of admission status.
But such is not the case.
- Walāʾ is Unique:
The right of walāʾ is a Sharʿī cause of inheritance, like blood lineage. Thus, it cannot be used as an analogy for copyrights.
Shāh Walī Allāh said:
“Scholars agree that walāʾ is not to be sold or gifted. It is inherited like lineage.”
(al-Musawwā)
- Bayʿ al-Ṣakkāk and Bayʿ al-Barāʾāt:
There is juristic disagreement on this:
- The main issue is selling something before possessing it, which the hadith prohibits.
Imām Mālik transmitted Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه saying:
“They sold it before taking possession.”
(Muwaṭṭaʾ Imām Mālik)
Imām Muḥammad cited gharar (deception) as the reason.
- Sale Before Possession Doesn’t Apply Here:
In the case of copyright or invention rights, the author or inventor sells a real, existing right.
Publishers or manufacturers acquire permission and legal access.
Hence, this is not a sale before possession.
Even if it were, it would still be allowed, as these types of transactions fall under istiṣnāʿ, which is unanimously excluded from that prohibition.
- Modern Law Treats These as Māl:
These rights are now treated as property, and both authors and publishers have legal rights to trade them.
Anyone using such rights without permission is a usurper (ghāṣib).
Since this form of usurpation is difficult to control practically, even Ḥanafī jurists deem any benefit from misappropriated property (like waqf or orphan wealth) to incur liability (ḍamān).
On Taking Payment for Religious Work
Yes, many early scholars opposed taking compensation for Ḥadīth narration or teaching, such as: Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, Ḥammād ibn Salamah, Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī, Shuʿbah, and Imām Aḥmad رحمهم الله
They even rejected narrations from those who took compensation.
However, other scholars permitted it, such as: Yaʿqūb, Abū Nuʿaym and ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, Tāwūs and Mujāhid—both respected tābiʿīn—also took payment.
In modern times, writing and publishing Islamic works is just as necessary as teaching Qurʾān or leading prayer.
Therefore, compensation is justified, and many jurists have ruled it permissible.
Final Note: Permissibility is Not Without Limits
Some argue that printing and distributing books is permissible in origin (mubāḥ al-aṣl).
While true, mubāḥ does not mean unrestricted.
Sharīʿah sets boundaries:
- A seller cannot interfere with another’s sale (sawm ʿalā sawm akhīh).
- A suitor cannot send a proposal over another’s proposal (khiṭbah ʿalā khiṭbah akhīh).
In trade:
- A person can sell at any price.
- But if prices are excessively inflated, then government regulation is permitted.
“If food sellers act unjustly and prices become unreasonably high, and the judge is unable to safeguard Muslim welfare without price regulation, then there is no harm in doing so—provided it is done by people of sound judgment.” (Takmilah Fatḥ al-Mulhim)
Conclusion
This same principle applies to copyrights and intellectual property:
Just as interference in trade and marriage is prohibited to prevent harm, so too:
- Unauthorized copying or distribution harms authors and publishers.
- Thus, regulating and protecting intellectual property rights is valid, beneficial, and necessary in Sharīʿah.
Academy’s Decision
In the seminar held in June 1990, corresponding to Dhū al-Qaʿdah 1410 AH, extensive deliberation took place regarding the issue of buying and selling rights. The outcome was reached with consideration and careful scrutiny.
Foundational Principle
One essential condition in trade is that the item must qualify as property (māl). However, Sharīʿah texts do not explicitly define what constitutes māl, so this determination is left to the customs (‘urf) of each era, provided such customs do not conflict with Sharīʿah.
Which Rights Can Be Sold?
- Rights granted merely to remove harm—and not inherently established—may not be sold or compensated for.
Example: The right of pre-emption (ḥaqq al-shufʿah).
- However, rights proven by Sharīʿah texts, which are associated with financial benefit, widely accepted in custom, and not merely harm-removing or contrary to Sharīʿah’s objectives, can be sold or exchanged for compensation.
Fiqh al-Buyūʿ
Muftī Taqī Uthmānī has discussed the issue of the sale of rights in detail in his book Fiqh al-Buyūʿ. Hereunder is a translated summary of a section titled ‘The Right of Innovation and the Right of Printing and Publishing’.
The Right of Innovation and the Right of Printing and Publishing
The right of innovation (ḥaqq al-ibtikār) is a right granted by custom and law to a person who invents a new product or designs a new form. The purpose of this right is that the innovator alone has the right to produce what they invented and to offer it commercially. They may also sell this right to someone else, who then holds the same right as the original innovator.
Similarly, someone who authored or compiled a book has the exclusive right to print and publish it and to earn profits from its commercial sale. They too may sell this right to another, who would then be entitled to the same benefits the author had.
So, the question arises:
Is it permissible to sell the right of innovation or the right of printing and publishing?
Contemporary scholars have differed on this matter—some permitted it, while others prohibited it.
The Core Issue
The fundamental issue here is:
Is the right of innovation or the right of printing and publishing recognized in Islamic law (Sharīʿah)?
The answer is:
Whoever is the first to create something new—whether it be tangible or intangible—is without doubt more entitled than others to produce and profit from it.
This is based on a narration in Abū Dāwūd, where the Prophet ﷺ said:
‘Whoever reaches something that no Muslim has reached before, it belongs to him.’”
(Abū Dāwūd)
Although al-Manāwī (رحمه الله) held that this ḥadīth specifically refers to reviving dead land (iḥyāʾ al-mawāt), he also quoted scholars who generalized it to any property, well, or mine—meaning that whoever gets to something first, it belongs to him.
(Fayḍ al-Qadīr 6/148)
There is no doubt that the general wording of a text carries more legal weight than its specific context.
Sharīʿah Validity of Innovation Rights
Since this right of innovation is based on precedence, and precedence is established in Sharīʿah, the same ruling applies here. We previously mentioned that some Shāfiʿī and Ḥanbalī scholars allowed the sale of such rights, although the preferred view among them is not to sell but to transfer it in return for compensation.
Imām al-Bahūtī, in Sharḥ Muntahā al-Irādāt, permits transferring rights such as:
- the right to demarcate land (ḥaqq al-taḥjīr),
- the right to occupy a mosque space, and
- other rights of precedence and exclusivity.
Accordingly, the right of innovation or printing rights may also be transferred to another person in exchange for payment.
Registered Rights and Legal Recognition
This refers only to the original right. But if this right is registered with the government, and the innovator has invested effort, money, and time for official recognition, and the right is legally formalized through certificates and documentation, then it becomes financially valuable in the eyes of commerce.
Thus, such registered rights may be classified similarly to physical assets and properties due to customary commercial practice (ʿurf).
As mentioned earlier, custom plays a role in defining what counts as wealth and property in Islamic law. Financial value is, according to Ibn ʿĀbidīn, established through public usage and valuation. Once registered, such rights are secured, preserved, and saved for future need, just like other forms of property.
There is no conflict with any Qurʾānic verse or ḥadīth in recognizing such rights. At most, it may oppose analogical reasoning (qiyās), which, if contradicted by custom, is often set aside.
Contemporary Scholars Who Allow It
In light of all this, many contemporary scholars have ruled that the sale of such rights is permissible. Among those from the Indian subcontinent are:
- Mawlānā Shaykh Fatḥ Muḥammad Dehlawī (student of Imām ʿAbd al-Ḥayy al-Lakhnawī),
- Shaykh Niẓām al-Dīn, Muftī of Dār al-ʿUlūm Deoband,
- Muftī ʿAbd al-Raḥīm Lājpūrī (رحمهم الله تعالى).
Responses to the Objectors
1. First Objection:
Innovation rights are not tangible assets, so you cannot take compensation for such abstract rights.
Response:
As shown earlier, this is not absolute. There are exceptions depending on the nature of the right—some rights may be compensated.
2. Second Objection:
If someone sells a book, the buyer owns the book in full and may do with it as they please, including printing it.
Response:
There is a difference between using a purchased item and reproducing its likeness. When someone buys a book, they own that copy, and may read, lend, sell, or gift it. But printing a new edition of the book is not among these rights.
For example, if someone buys minted coins, they own and may use those coins, but that doesn’t entitle them to mint new ones. Similarly, owning a book doesn’t entitle one to print new copies.
3. Third Objection:
Reprinting a book or producing a similar innovation doesn’t cause actual loss, only a reduction in profit, which isn’t considered harm.
Response:
Even if reduced profit isn’t a loss, it is still harm. And there’s a clear difference between harm and loss.
One who endures hardship, intellectual labour, financial expense, and time to invent or write something has more right to profit from it than someone who buys it cheaply and resells for personal gain.
4. Fourth Objection:
If printing rights are given to one person, it may restrict knowledge, whereas open printing leads to wider benefit.
Response:
Confining printing rights does not equal withholding knowledge. The author is not preventing people from reading, studying, or teaching the book. He is only restricting printing for commercial profit without permission.
So, this is not knowledge concealment in any sense.
The final argument of those who prohibit is that retaining printing rights restricts the spread of the book. If everyone had the right to print and publish the book, its circulation would be broader and its benefit more widespread and comprehensive.
This is a reality that cannot be denied.
However, this argument flips if we look at it from another perspective:
If innovators are denied the right to profit from what they have invented, their enthusiasm for undertaking major projects and new innovations will dwindle — especially when they see that such efforts yield only minimal returns.
Such matters, which have two sides, are not to be conclusively resolved in legal rulings as long as there is no explicit Sharʿī prohibition.
For indeed, among all permissible things, there are those that carry harm and benefit.
Note & Final Conclusion
In summary, and Allah knows best:
The right of innovation and authorship is recognized in Islamic law.
No one may infringe on these rights without permission from the inventor or author. This ruling also applies to software programs.
However, this infringement only occurs when someone reproduces the product, book, or software on a large scale for commercial use or profit.
But if someone copies it for personal use or gifts it to friends without compensation, then this is not an infringement.
Therefore, publishers and software companies who prevent users from making personal copies of books or CDs without commercial intent have no valid justification.
A person owns the book or disc they purchased and may use it for personal benefit. But they may not reproduce it for commercial purposes without permission.
And Allāh Taʿālā knows best.
Copyright is secured automatically when you create an original work that people can see or hear such as a book. Most works eligible for copyright protection do not require registration or other formalities, except for cinematograph films. You can create your own copyright by putting the words “copyright” or “copyright reserved” or the internationally recognised copyright symbol followed by your name and the year e.g. © Fulan 2011 on your original work. See the following link gov.za.
بدائع الصنائع في ترتيب الشرائع — علاء الدين، أبو بكر بن مسعود بن أحمد الكاساني الحنفي (ت ٥٨٧هـ) 5/172
والمشروط إذا كان هذا سبيله؛ كان من مقتضيات العقد، واشتراط شرط يقتضيه العقد لا يوجب فساد العقد
الاختيار لتعليل المختار— عبد الله بن محمود بن مودود الموصلي البلدحي، مجد الدين أبو الفضل الحنفي (ت ٦٨٣هـ) 2/25
والجملة في ذلك أن البيع بالشرط ثلاثة أنواع: نوع: البيع والشرط جائزان، وهو كل شرط يقتضيه العقد ويلائمه
فتاوي رحيمية —مفتي سيد عبد الرحيم لاجبوري (١٤٢٢ه ) 3/577
جديد فقهي مباحث – 440-469/9
In the South African context legal registration may not be required to protect such rights.
فقه البيوع – محمد تقي العثماني – 271-276/1