Back to search
The question

Do copyrights reserved for the author mean preventing the commercial exploitation of the book or preventing personal use of it (such as copying and downloading)? And is it permissible to download books for free from the internet, or must they be purchased?

Share this answer

Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The phrase "All rights reserved" signifies the protection of the financial and intellectual rights of the author, website, or programmer. This means it is impermissible to copy or download their content without the owner's permission, because intellectual property rights have a legally protected financial value. Therefore, it is not permissible to infringe upon them, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "Indeed, your blood and your wealth are sacred to you." Copyrights and patent rights are legally protected, and their owners have the right to dispose of them. Accordingly, it is not permissible to copy programs or written works, whether for personal or commercial use, except with the permission of their owners or by purchasing them. Lending a book is permissible, provided it is not commercially copied.

Summary from Ftawy's records · added here

Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.

Read the full answer on Ftawy
Where this answer came from
Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
92238
Added here
. This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
Text
Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full ruling
Read the full answer on Ftawy