What is the ruling on learning certain software programs or using their cracks through illicit means (such as torrents) due to the unavailability of funds for courses, and does this entail worldly or otherworldly sin?

The Fiqh Academy, a subsidiary of the Organization of Islamic Conference, has ruled that copyrights and patents are legally protected and may not be infringed upon, because they hold considerable financial value in contemporary custom. Accordingly, it is impermissible to learn courses through illicit means. However, the profits resulting from benefiting from those courses in a permissible activity are lawful. The ruling on cracking (software) is no different from the ruling on copyright infringement.