Are We Violating Copyright Ethics If the Book Is Recited in a Class and Later Shared on YouTube?

Answered by Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat

Question

At our class, we go through certain books which have been translated. Now, when we have Shuyukh teaching us, they use the book but translate Arabic themselves, though sometimes we might have a book in English that we read verbatim.

Now that is fine, but the issue is that these classes are recorded for the students, and a live stream goes out also, but that’s for the students also though anyone, can access it as it goes on YouTube.

My issue is that we are going against any copyright or going against the author’s rights by recording such sessions since they ask for prior permission to do certain things with the books.

Answer

Recording these classes and making them publicly available is permissible and not a breach of copyright. Specific usages are implicitly understood to be permissible, such as an explanation or commentary on a book translated as a text to be studied.

The legal maxim supporting this is “That which is known customarily [to be included in a contract] is as though it has been explicitly conditioned [in the contract].” Besides, the teacher is also making his own contribution, so it is not purely the translation that is being discussed here. [Zarqa, Sharh al-Qawa’id al-Fiqhiyya; Maydani, al-Lubab]

May Allah benefit you through your classes and service.

[Shaykh] Abdul-Rahim Reasat
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Abdul-Rahim Reasat began his studies in Arabic Grammar and Morphology in 2005. After graduating with a degree in English and History he moved to Damascus in 2007 where, for 18 months, he studied with many erudite scholars. In late 2008 he moved to Amman, Jordan, where he continued his studies for the next six years in Sacred Law (fiqh), legal theory (Usul al-fiqh), theology, hadith methodology, hadith commentary, and Logic. He was also given licenses of mastery in the science of Quranic recital and he was able to study an extensive curriculum of Quranic sciences, tafsir, Arabic grammar, and Arabic eloquence.