Is selling halal services on pirate websites halal ?

format_quote Originally Posted by dragoncity

the diffrence between the two kinds of forums I talk about is:

I will change the site domains just to not show them for real (I will use example.com)

1. The first kind of sites/forums are titled litterally

(example.com is a cracking forum and community. We offer free premium accounts to everyone and we have a variation of cracked and leaked programs to choose from!)

another one

(example.com is a community where you can find tons of great leaks, make new friends, participate in active discussions and much more.)

and the other one doesn't have any title but when you access it you see these sub forums

( World News, Anime & Manga, Not safe for work. Giveaways, Operating systems, Programs, Antivirus, Advanced hacking, Website & Server Hacking, Social Engineering, Coding, Tutorialsm Graphic Design, Video Design, Battlesm Web Design, Cross Platforms, Microsoft Consoles, Nintendo Consoles, Sony Consoles, PC Gaming, Ebooks, Music, Movies & TV, Programs, Gmaes, Accounts, Market disscussion, Monetizing, Marketplace ) Most of those sub forums are fine except the hacking ones but the hacking ones can be for white or red or black hat hackers so I don't know

the above one I don't know about it. Can you answer me for the above one also ?

2. The second kind of sites/forums are titled

(example.com is a community driven digital marketplace that connects buyers and sellers from all around. We have grown to become a leading platform for trading virtual products. You can also participate in general discussions on our site, make new friends, and have some fun!)

the other one

( example.com Video game and social media marketplace. We supports over 1000 games with nearly a million members. )


So in summary my problem/question is:
1. Are the first kind still HARAM after I detailed them ?
2. What about the last one of the first kind ?
3. Are the second kind still HALAL ?

The second kind is splitted between 2

Ones that says "don't do illegal stuff here". (This one is clear for me HALAL and allahu aelam)

And other ones say "we are not responsible of what is posted here "and they don't encourage illegal stuff at same time. (Those I am semi sure about them HALAL and allahu aelam but still I have to ask to be more sure) you can think of those in real life like a marketplace or a supermarket owner that he doesn't say for example "don't sell drugs or wine or bad stuff" but at same time he doesn't encourage it. He just say "You the responsible of what you are selling and I am not telling you what or what to not sell" and I am dragoncity the one who pay the owner of that supermarket (that have wine drugs and different kind of food in it) a fee to sell there.


So what am I doing now ?

Assalamualaikum

From what I understand, both the forums are market places. The first kind sells pirated software and the second one sells genuine software.

I am not a Mufti, but alhamdulillah I have good knowledge in conventional technologies and Islamic finance. So, based on my knowledge and experience, I will simplify the things for you. You can still ask a reliable Mufti and get clarification.

Case 1: This is the place where pirated software are sold or provided on paying a certain amount of fees. Lets first understand how this system works.

There is one website (say pirated .com) which charges a certain fee from customers to allow the download of pirated software. Here a customer buys a subscription, which is usually very low. The platform, makes money by providing the costly software as cracked versions. Buying this subscription is haram for the customer. Because, though he is paying a fee to register on the website, the fees is not even close to worth of the products. For example, a software which costs about $500 and many other such high end software can be downloaded on these websites by just paying a small subscription fee of $29 or $99. So, when customer is buying through haram means, I don't think your application will be getting any halal share from the sales.

And in second part, though the website is not mentioning its selling pirated software but still sells them, the same rule is applicable as above. However, you can participate in discussions, make friends and get the contacts and sell your products independently. Then it will be transaction between you and the customer. And there is nothing haram in that.

Case 2: Second one is halal if it a genuine marketplace. Like the owners are putting up their applications in the marketplace and you can easily buy them. Again you need to make sure, that if the owner is willingly providing his softwares. If the owner is willingly providing, then you can take it for free too. Market places like envato provide this facility, where owners willingingly put up their softwares at reasonable subscription. downloading softwares form these websites will be halal. But you need to take care that you are not doing any illegal transaction here.