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Copying copyright materials

Question

Is it Haram to copy Qur’an cassettes or Muhaadra, because I’ve heard that it is Haram if the copyrights are reserved?

Answer

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his Family and Companions.

The cassettes of lectures and Qur'an are of two kinds:

1) The owners of those cassettes do not reserve their rights; this is the most common practice since the persons intend Da’wah through such cassettes, and they do not want to do business. These cassettes are permissible for every one to copy, print and publish.

2) The owners of such material clearly announce that the rights are reserved. In this case copying or publishing them is not permissible except with the owners’ prior permission. Some scholars are of the opinion that the second kind of material could be copied only for personal use, not for the purpose of business.

All the above rulings are considered if the owner of the material (lecturer or the Qari) has allotted them the right of reservation.

Allah knows best.

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