Fatwa ID: 08698
Answered by: Muftiyah Saniyah bint Asrar
Question:
What is the legal ruling on registering a social media username that is freely available and can be claimed by anyone? Specifically, if a person deliberately registers a username anticipating that a particular business or brand with the same name will need it in the future, and then approaches that business with the same name to buy the username from them, is this practice permissible?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
There is nothing wrong in registering a social media username that is free and then waiting for it to be demanded by someone else to sell it to them as long as doing so doesn’t violate the rules of the social media company.
Instagram prohibits the buying/selling of accounts, so violating this rule would be impermissible. However, this is a common practice in certain areas such as when buying a website name that could be in demand at a later time. This practice is more obviously permissible as you must buy the website name for a small price initially and then sell it to a big company later on.
References:
المسندالموضوعيالجامعللكتبالعشرة٣/٣٢٨
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو اليَمَانِ، أَخْبَرَنَا شُعَيْبٌ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الزِّنَادِ، أَنَّ الأَعْرَجَ، حَدَّثَهُ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ ﵁، أَنَّهُ، سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ، يَقُولُ:
«مَنْ أَطَاعَنِي فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ، وَمَنْ عَصَانِي فَقَدْ عَصَى اللَّهَ، وَمَنْ يُطِعِ الأَمِيرَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَنِي، وَمَنْ يَعْصِ الأَمِيرَ فَقَدْ عَصَانِي، وَإِنَّمَا الإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ، فَإِنْ أَمَرَ بِتَقْوَى اللَّهِ وَعَدَلَ، فَإِنَّ لَهُ بِذَلِكَ أَجْرًا وَإِنْ قَالَ بِغَيْرِهِ فَإِنَّ عَلَيْهِ مِنْهُ»، (خ) ٢٩٥٧
الوفاء بالعهد فيما لا يخالف شرع الله تعالى واجب، قال تعالى: «وأوفوا بالعهد إن العهد كان مسئولا» الإسراء: ٣١، سواء كان مع الهندوس أو مع غيرهم، مالم يحصل منهم إخلال بالعهد أو إساءة إلى الإسلام.
وبالله التوفيق وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وآله وصحبه وسلم.
Only Allah (عز و جل) knows best.
Written by Muftiyah Saniyah bint Asrar
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
