What is the ruling on one who prints the books of others without their permission?

The questioner : The question is that they consider it permissible to photocopy books and sell them, books belonging to others, without their permission. Is their action a right, even though some of our brothers in Allah issue fatwas to them stating that the right of the book's author is only the first edition? For example, if you wrote a book, Shaykh, and tomorrow I print it as much as I want, there is no harm.

Another questioner : Is the intention of distribution for the sake of Allah, for example?

The questioner : No, no, for sale. He sells it as a sale.

Another questioner : If it were for the sake of Allah,

The questioner : No, that is not what I told him.

Another questioner : Without compensation, meaning...

The Shaykh : First of all, my brothers, those who issue these fatwas and similar ones know from themselves that they are not among the people of knowledge. They know from themselves that they are not among the people of knowledge. Therefore, we say to these people and their like: weigh yourselves by the texts of the Book and the Sunnah. Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, in a verse previously mentioned, divided the Muslim community into two groups: the knowledgeable and the ignorant, and He made an obligation upon each group. He said: We remind these people who speak without knowledge. I wish the matter stopped at speaking without knowledge. But it is accompanied by ignorance, or by speaking without knowledge, by desire. The Messenger (peace be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: And he mentioned among them, as you know, And desire may be accompanied by this, and I think this is present with these people, except whom Allah protects. Few are those who issue fatwas without knowledge, and they bring every person of opinion with his opinion. So we remind these people to measure themselves. It is not necessary that I, or Bakr, or 'Amr, or Zayd, judge him as a scholar or not a scholar. Consult your heart, and if the one who issues the fatwa has this verse with you, You are either among the people of knowledge or among the other side. If you are among the people of knowledge, then speak and fear Allah, and do not speak out of desire. This question is often asked to me, and I ask before I answer: Is this person who issues this fatwa that it is permissible for him to exploit the scientific efforts of others and benefit from them materially? Does he issue a fatwa to himself permitting that? Is he among the people of knowledge? I do not find a scholar, or at least I do not know of a scholar, who issues this fatwa. But I issue a fatwa that if a man takes a book from my books, let alone the books of others, and prints it and distributes it for the sake of Allah, not seeking any material gain from it, then this benefits us and does not harm us. But if he exploits our efforts, especially these efforts that are not known except by those who engaged in them and fell into them, which are the efforts of verification and collation, first time, second time, and third time. Some of our brothers, like our brother 'Ali, perhaps you and your like have some participation in this, know that these matters are tiring and very tiring, not just the authorship. I once said to some of them, and they are among those who are strict and say it is not permissible, this is a different type from the type you are asking about. It is not permissible for the author of the book to benefit materially. So we will understand him of this reality I mentioned earlier: that the authorship of this book is not just a fatwa I issue to you and demand a price for. That is forbidden. That is buying knowledge with money, and that is forbidden by the Book, the Sunnah, and consensus. But I am not obligated, if I issue a fatwa to you, to write it down and say to you, "Write it however you wish and want." So I say: Is it permissible to print the mushaf and take a wage for this printing, or not? Then comes the role of the Islamic book, any book. Here the poor man stands confused. If it is said it is not permissible, the interests of the Muslims in the Book of their Lord and the books of the Sunnah, hadith, and fiqh, and so on, would be halted. If it is said, and this is the truth, yes, it is permissible. This permissible thing is not in exchange for selling knowledge. No. Rather, it is in exchange for efforts spent in the way of spreading this knowledge in a specific manner, which is printing. If we trace the chain, we go from the printer to the verifier, today an employee under his hand, to the author. The matter becomes clear that this aspect is never in conflict with sincerity to Allah, Mighty and Exalted, in authoring any Islamic book. At that point, the subject of this issue arises: If it is permissible for this printer to benefit materially from printing this book, how is it permissible for another printer to steal it from him and exploit his efforts and say, "This is halal for me"? No doubt that this, first, is issuing a fatwa without knowledge, and second, is following his desire for his material interest. So I ask Allah, Mighty and Exalted, first, to make what He teaches us beneficial for us, and to increase us in knowledge, and to keep desire away from ourselves. He is the Hearing, the Responsive, if Allah wills.

The questioner : Shaykh, that is enough for this issue.

The questioner : But there is a comment, a follow-up. It is a simple point.

The Shaykh : Please, go ahead.

The questioner : The one who issues a fatwa permitting this places "copyright reserved" on his books.

The Shaykh : laughsThe Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on him. Allahu Akbar.
Al-Halabi : Exactly for this issue. Some of our brother publishers in Egypt, I saw this there when I traveled there. They see some books whose editions have become scarce and have not been reprinted, so they print, for example, fifty copies, a hundred copies, meaning for the brothers who are students of knowledge, and they make a small profit to run their affairs with it. Is this the same as that, or is it different?

The Shaykh : No, it is not different. As long as he makes a profit, it is not different.
Al-Halabi : It is not different?

The questioner: Allahu Akbar.

The Shaykh : But if he prints it for the sake of Allah, I mentioned earlier, if he prints thousands of it.

The questioner : Our Shaykh, if he sells it at cost, according to what he spends on it.
Al-Halabi : As long as he does not make a profit, at cost.The Shaykh : He said it is permissible.

The Shaykh : He is saying he wants to recover his capital?
Al-Halabi : Ah

The Shaykh: There is no objection.