Fatwa ID: 07778
Written by Maulana Ateiq-ur Rehman
Question:
Salam,
Is it permissible to use platforms such as SciHub to access research papers or works that are behind paywalls (i.e. papers or works that are not Open access)?
What are the rulings on downloading PDFs and sharing PDFs of books that are behind paywalls or otherwise need to be bought?
I’d like an answer that takes into account all three perspectives, i.e. author, reader and publisher.
Jazakallah Khayr.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
Allah mentions in the Quran:
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَأۡكُلُوٓاْ أَمۡوَٰلَكُم بَيۡنَكُم بِٱلۡبَٰطِلِ إِلَّآ أَن تَكُونَ تِجَٰرَةً عَن تَرَاضٖ مِّنكُمۡۚ وَلَا تَقۡتُلُوٓاْ أَنفُسَكُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُمۡ رَحِيمٗا
“O you who have believed, do not consume one another’s wealth unjustly but only [in lawful] business by mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves [or one another]. Indeed, Allah is to you ever Merciful.” (surah Nisa:29)
وَٱلسَّارِقُ وَٱلسَّارِقَةُ فَٱقۡطَعُوٓاْ أَيۡدِيَهُمَا جَزَآءَۢ بِمَا كَسَبَا نَكَٰلٗا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٞ
“[As for] the thief, the male and the female, amputate their hands in recompense for what they committed as a deterrent [punishment] from Allah. And Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.” (Ma’idah:38)
فَمَن تَابَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِ ظُلۡمِهِۦ وَأَصۡلَحَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَتُوبُ عَلَيۡهِۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٞ رَّحِيمٌ
“But whoever repents after his wrongdoing and reforms, indeed, Allah will turn to him in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
The Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم said: “When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time he is doing it, and when a drinker of an alcoholic liquor drinks it, then he is not a believer at the time of drinking it, and when a thief steals, then he is not a believer at the time of stealing, and when a robber robs, and the people look at him, then he is not a believer at the time of doing robbery.” (Bukhari 2475)
I was unaware of SciHub until I began researching for this question. I began with a simple internet search and it quickly became apparent that it is a ‘pirate’ website that uses other people’s intellectual property illegally without consent. Further research showed that many university students benefit from the website and its uses can be many.
Thereafter I began to research the legality of using such websites according to law in the UK. I came across the following article on the City of London Police website, published in 2021:
Main article content
Published:08:17 19/03/2021
Police warn students and universities of accessing an illegal website to download published scientific papers
The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) is warning universities and students to not use ‘Sci Hub’, a series of websites that allow users to illegally access millions of scientific research papers.
Sci-Hub is a series of websites that enable free access to over 70 million published scientific papers of all disciplines. It is estimated that it includes 80% or more of the world’s currently published scientific articles, with the volume of data being roughly two and a half times the size of Wikipedia.
Sci-Hub obtains the papers through a variety of malicious means, such as the use of publishing emails to trick university staff and students into divulging their login credentials. Sci-Hub then uses this to compromise the university’s network and download the research papers.
Sci-Hub allows users to request a journal article, which is then retrieved from a publisher’s platform, using compromised access credentials. Many universities around the world have suffered intrusions as a result of access credentials being stolen when visiting the Sci-Hub website.
“Students should be aware that accessing such websites is illegal, as it hosts stolen intellectual property. Visitors to the site are very vulnerable to having their credentials stolen, which once obtained, are used by Sci-Hub to access further academic journals for free and continue to pose a threat to intellectual property rights.
“With more students now studying from home and having more online lectures, it is vital that universities prevent students from accessing the stolen information on the university network. This will not only prevent the universities from having their own credentials stolen, but also those of their students, and potentially the credentials of other members of the households if connected to the same internet provider.
“It is essential that students and universities report incidents of cybercrime to Action Fraud so that we can build up a clear picture of the latest threats and give the best advice on how to avoid falling victim to cyber criminals such as Sci-Hub.” (the article continues, please refer to the City of London Police webpage for the complete article).
This is where I ended my research as it is clearly evident, that the use of such websites is not only illegal but also, immoral and unsafe. Although many students can benefit from such websites, it is not permissible to use such sites, as permission is not gained from the authors of the articles, and the information is gathered through hacking university databases and tricking people to divulge their information, this is classed as stealing.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Ateiq-ur Rehman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
References
السرقة في اللغة: أخذ الشيء من الغير على سبيل الخفية والاستسرار ومنه استراق السمع قال الله تعالى: {إِلَّا مَنِ اسْتَرَقَ السَّمْعَ} [الحجر: ١٨] كتاب الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي 2:362)
(قَوْلُهُ فَكَمُصْحَفٍ) أَيْ فِي تَأْوِيلِ أَخْذِهَا لِلْقِرَاءَةِ، وَكَوْنِ الْمَقْصُودِ مَا فِيهَا وَلَا مَالِيَّةَ لَهُ (قَوْلُهُ وَإِلَّا فَكَطُنْبُورٍ) أَيْ فِي تَأْوِيلِ أَخْذِهَا لِإِزَالَةِ مَا فِيهَا نَهْيًا عَنْ الْمُنْكَرِ: وَالْحَاصِلُ: أَنَّهُ لَا يُقْطَعُ بِكُتُبِ عُلُومٍ شَرْعِيَّةٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهَا قَالَ الْقُهُسْتَانِيُّ، فَيَشْمَلُ: أَيْ الدَّفْتَرُ الْمُصْحَفَ وَكُتُبَ الْعُلُومِ الشَّرْعِيَّةِ وَالْآدَابِ وَدَوَاوِينَ فِيهَا حِكْمَةٌ دُونَ مَا فِيهَا أَشْعَارٌ مَكْرُوهَةٌ وَكُتُبِ الْعُلُومِ الْحِكَمِيَّةِ فَإِنَّهُمَا دَاخِلَانِ فِي آلَاتِ لَهْوٍ كَمَا أَشَارَ إلَيْهِ فِي الزَّادِ وَغَيْرِهِ.
ثُمَّ نَقَلَ قَوْلًا آخَرَ بِالْقَطْعِ بِكُتُبِ الْأَدَبِ وَالشِّعْرِ، لَكِنْ قَالَ فِي الْفَتْحِ وَالْبَحْرِ: شَمَلَ مِثْلَ كُتُبِ السِّحْرِ وَمِثْلَ كُتُبِ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَاخْتَلَفَ فِي غَيْرِهَا: أَيْ غَيْرِ كُتُبِ الشَّرِيعَةِ مِنْ الْعَرَبِيَّةِ وَالشِّعْرِ، فَقِيلَ مُلْحَقَةٌ بِدَفَاتِرِ الْحِسَابِ فَيُقْطَعُ فِيهَا
(كتاب حاشية ابن عابدين = رد المحتار ط الحلبي
4:93)
