In the opinion of Allamah Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani , the basis of rights in Islam is ownership; meaning that everyone has the right to take possession of what he owns, provided that his possession does not contradict the rulings of Islam or prevent others from taking possession of what they own, and this is the meaning of a well-known rule that reads: «النَّاسُ مُسَلَّطُونَ عَلَى أَمْوَالِهِمْ»; “People are in control of their belongings.” Based on this, whoever writes a book is considered its owner and can take possession of it, by reproducing it, selling it, or donating it, and others cannot take possession of it without his permission, and if they do so, they are liable for it. Yes, they can take possession of it after buying it, by reproducing it, selling it, or donating it, even if the author is not satisfied with it; because its ownership has transferred from the author to the buyer due to the sale, and the buyer has the right to take possession of what he owns, just as the author had the same right when he was the owner, and there is clearly no difference between the ownership arising from authorship and the ownership arising from buying, except concerning moral rights that are not transferable and are reserved for the author; because the identity of the author is an external reality that does not change with a change of nominal matters, and therefore, concealing it is considered deception, and stating anything opposite to it is considered lying, both of which are forbidden; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتَكْتُمُوا الْحَقَّ وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾[1]; “And do not cover the truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know.” This is the rule for whoever produces something and then sells it, and it appears that there is no disagreement about it except concerning the right of reproduction; because there is no known disagreement that whoever buys something can sell or donate it. The only known disagreement is about the permissibility of reproducing it, meaning copying and multiplying it, although the rule is general and includes it, and there is nothing in the Book or the Sunnah that would specify it. Based on this, the buyer has the right to sell, donate, and reproduce what he has bought; because he owns it, and whoever owns something can sell it, donate it, and reproduce it. However, he is not allowed to conceal the identity of the producer or do worse than that by attributing the production to himself or a third party.

However, can the producer stipulate in the contract that what he sells is not allowed to be reproduced, sold, or donated? The truth is that he cannot; because this stipulation contradicts the buyer’s control of what he owns, and from this perspective, it contradicts the Book of Allah, while the Messenger of Allah has said: «مَا بَالُ أَقْوَامٍ يَشْتَرِطُونَ شُرُوطًا لَيْسَتْ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ؟! مَنِ اشْتَرَطَ شَرْطًا لَيْسَ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ فَلَيْسَ لَهُ -أَوْ قَالَ: فَهُوَ بَاطِلٌ- وَإِنِ اشْتَرَطَ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ»; “What is the matter with people who stipulate conditions that are not in book of Allah?! Whoever stipulates a condition which is not in the Book of Allah does not have any right -or he said: it is invalid- even if he stipulated it a hundred times.” This Hadith is mutawatir in meaning. Additionally, the producer’s motive for stipulating that what he sells is not allowed to be reproduced, sold, or donated is nothing but profiteering, meaning hoarding profit greedily, while profiteering in this sense contradicts Islamic morals; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ﴾[2]; “You are obsessed by the greed for more,” and said: ﴿ذَرْنِي وَمَنْ خَلَقْتُ وَحِيدًا ۝ وَجَعَلْتُ لَهُ مَالًا مَمْدُودًا ۝ وَبَنِينَ شُهُودًا ۝ وَمَهَّدْتُ لَهُ تَمْهِيدًا ۝ ثُمَّ يَطْمَعُ أَنْ أَزِيدَ ۝ كَلَّا﴾[3]; “Leave me with the one I created alone, and I granted to him wealth extensive, and sons present, and I made life very easy for him. Yet he greedily desires that I give him more. Never!” and said: ﴿وَلَا تَمْنُنْ تَسْتَكْثِرُ﴾[4]; “And do not do a favor expecting more.” Rather, stipulating that the product is not allowed to be reproduced, sold, or donated due to greed for more profit is miserliness and enjoining miserliness, both of which are forbidden in Islam; as Allah Almighty has said: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ ۗ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا﴾[5]; “Those who are miserly and enjoin others to be miserly and conceal what Allah has given them of His grace, We have prepared a humiliating punishment for disbelievers,” and said: ﴿الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ ۗ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيدُ﴾[6]; “Those who are miserly and enjoin others to be miserly, and whoever turns away, then Allah is indeed the Rich, the Praiseworthy,” and said: ﴿وَلَا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ بِمَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ هُوَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ ۖ بَلْ هُوَ شَرٌّ لَهُمْ ۖ سَيُطَوَّقُونَ مَا بَخِلُوا بِهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ وَلِلَّهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ﴾[7]; “And those who are miserly with what Allah has given them of His grace shall not suppose that it is good for them, but rather it is evil for them. They will be collared by that with which they were miserly on the Day of Judgment, and to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth, and Allah is Aware of whatever you do,” especially concerning scholarly and cultural products; because profiteering, miserliness, and enjoining miserliness concerning them lead to the poor being deprived of knowledge and culture and the rich having a monopoly on them; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«سَمِعْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ الْهَاشِمِيَّ الْخُرَاسَانِيَّ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ مِنْ أَبْغَضِ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ إِلَيْهِ عَبْدًا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ عِلْمًا فَأَرَادَ بِهِ مَنْفَعَةَ الدُّنْيَا، فَمَنَعَهُ مِنَ الْفُقَرَاءِ وَعَرَضَهُ عَلَى الْأَغْنِيَاءِ، لِيَشْتَرِيَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَيَصُدَّ عَنْ سَبِيلِهِ، ﴿أُولَئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ﴾[8]»[9]; “I heard Mansoor Hashemi Khorasani say: Indeed, one of the most hateful servants of Allah with Him is one to whom Allah has given knowledge, then he has sought the benefit of the world through it, so he has kept it from the poor and offered it to the rich in order to sell Allah’s signs for a small price and prevent from His way! ‘They eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and Allah will neither speak to them nor purify them on the Day of Judgment, and there is a painful punishment for them.’”

Yes, if not preventing the reproduction, sale, and donation of scholarly and cultural products leads to a decrease in their production below the necessary level, then the Imam must financially support their producers by giving them a wage or a prize from the public treasury; as one of our companions informed us, he said:

«سَأَلْتُ الْمَنْصُورَ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ يَكُونُ لَهُ عِلْمٌ فَيَكْتُبُ كِتَابًا، أَلَهُ أَنْ يَبِيعَهُ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَيَرْبَحَ عَلَيْهِمْ؟ قَالَ: لَا يَنْبَغِي لَهُ ذَلِكَ، إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ كِتَابًا يَنْفَعُهُمْ فِي دُنْيَاهُمْ، قُلْتُ: أَلَهُ أَنْ يَشْتَرِطَ عَلَيْهِمْ أَنْ يَكْتُمُوهُ، فَلَا يَبِيعُوهُ وَلَا يَهَبُوهُ، لِيَزْدَادَ بِذَلِكَ رِبْحًا، إِنْ كَانَ كِتَابًا يَنْفَعُهُمْ فِي دُنْيَاهُمْ؟ قَالَ: لَيْسَ لَهُ أَنْ يَشْتَرِطَ مَا يُخَالِفُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، قُلْتُ: فَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ بَعْدَ هَذَا فِي الْكِتَابَةِ؟! قَالَ: إِنَّمَا يَرْغَبُ فِيهَا مَنْ يَبْتَغِي فَضْلًا مِنَ اللَّهِ وَرِضْوَانًا، وَهُوَ أَحَقُّ بِهَا وَأَهْلُهَا، وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى، فَمَكَثَ هُنَيْئَةً ثُمَّ قَالَ: عَلَى الْإِمَامِ أَنْ يُنْفِقَ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ بَيْتِ الْمَالِ، أَوْ يَجْعَلَ لَهُ جَائِزَةً، إِنْ كَانَ كِتَابُهُ مِمَّا يَنْفَعُ النَّاسَ، ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾[10]»[11]; “I asked Mansoor about a man who has knowledge, so he writes a book, is he allowed to sell it to people in order to make a profit on them? He said: ‘He should not do this unless it is a book that benefits them in their world.’ I said: ‘If it is a book that benefits them in their world, then is he allowed to stipulate that they should conceal it, so they may not sell it or give it away in order to increase his profit in this way?’ He said: ‘He is not allowed to stipulate something that contradicts the Book of Allah the Exalted, the Majestic.’ I said: “Then who will be interested in writing after that?!’ He said: ‘Only one who seeks Allah’s grace and satisfaction will be interested in it, and he is more deserving of it and one of its people, and what is with Allah is better and more lasting.’ Then he paused for a moment and then said: ‘It is for the Imam to pay him from the treasury or give him a reward if his book is one of the things that benefit people, for Allah does not waste the reward of those who do good.’”

This is the ruling of Islam on reproduction, which has been legislated to support the least wealthy people so that knowledge is accessible to everyone and not monopolized by the rich, even though profiteers, capitalists, taxpayers, and those who support them and are reciprocally supported by them hate it, ﴿وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾[12]; “and Allah is the All-Seer of whatever they do.”