Is it permissible to benefit from website design tutorial videos that have been downloaded without purchasing them, and to quote a specific design from them to use as a primary template for a website, with modifications made to it, especially in light of the unavailability of an electronic payment method and its high price?
It is not permissible to download programs whose owners prohibit their download without their permission, because it infringes upon their recognized intellectual property rights. The Permanent Committee has stipulated the impermissibility of copying programs whose owners prohibit their copying, except with their permission. The Committee cited the hadith: "Muslims are bound by their conditions," and "The property of a Muslim person is not lawful except with his willing consent," and "Whoever precedes to something permissible has a greater right to it." This also includes the rights of a non-belligerent disbeliever. Some scholars have permitted the use of such programs for personal benefit without earning money from them. Based on this opinion, there is no harm in copying programs for personal benefit, nor in adopting a design that emulates an existing design.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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