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Is it permissible to use images found on the internet commercially, knowing that some of them stipulate personal use only, and others state "all rights reserved"?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

As for images on the internet that are free from any explicit prohibition against copying and using them, it is permissible to use them for personal, non-commercial purposes, provided that the images themselves are permissible for use according to Islamic law. If there is clear evidence that the owner of the images prohibits their use, then their permission is necessary because these are their intellectual rights. The condition set by the owner of the images is to be respected; if they permit their use with the restriction of personal use, it is not permissible to use them commercially without their permission. If they grant unrestricted permission, then both personal and commercial use are allowed. If they write "All rights reserved," then commercial use depends on their permission.

However, the argument that their being unsecured negates the owner's ownership is incorrect, because lack of security does not negate ownership, and it is not permissible to transgress against another's owned property. Nevertheless, taking something that is not secured is not considered theft that incurs the hadd punishment, but rather an act of disobedience involving aggression against another's property without lawful right. Unsecured property is property that is not in a hirz (secure place), and a hirz is a place where one who places money in it is not considered negligent.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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