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Is person (B) sinful for helping another person (A) use an unlicensed, pirated software program owned by (A), knowing that the copy is unlicensed? And is he obligated to report it to the authorities, given that there are different fatwas regarding the permissibility of duplicating software after its owner has made a certain profit? And if he cannot delete pirated software from a computer he does not own, is he sinful if the owner of the device refuses to delete it?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If someone copies a program without the owners' permission, it is not permissible to help him use it if you are aware of that. You must advise him and clarify the religious ruling to him. If he is not convinced due to caprice, there is no harm in informing the competent authority. However, if he is not convinced because he believes it is permissible based on following some scholars, then he should not be reported. And if he is unable to delete the program that was downloaded without the owners' permission, then there is no blame upon him.

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

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