cross-posted from: https://lemdro.id/post/38140147
I got into free and open source software, you can take an idea about it from fsf by watching the video https://www.fsf.org/about/what-is-free-software
So, I have been in this rabbit hole for years now. And I convinced myself that using non-free software is haram and I shouldn’t do it, however when I looked it up I found no discussion about it In Muslim communities anywhere, no fatwas about it. But how can that be, don’t anyone else see big tech companies evil? Shouldn’t Muslims use these free as in freedom software instead of Google and Facebook products? Shouldn’t products by Facebook, openai and Microsoft and the rest of them be haram with existence of free alternatives that respect user privacy and freedom? Why there’s no discussion about it at all?
Freedom in the west is a goal in and of itself that acts as a moral compass when judging tools and products. Islam values freedom, but it is not a end goal, nor is it a moral precept to base your ethics on. It’s important, and Islam values freedom of religion, freedom of speech, etc., but not to the full maximizing extent that you see in western countries.
The five classical objectives of Sharia are:
- protection of religion
- protection of life
- protection of intellect
- protection of lineage
- protection of property/wealth
Both in the community sense (laws) and the personal sense (halal/haram)
From an Islamic perspective, More Freedom does not always equal better protection of above. For example, freedom for sperm donations can harm lineage, where people don’t know who their fathers are and vice versa; this can cause potential scenarios where half-siblings marry without knowledge. As such, Sharia prioritizes other needs over freedom when a tension emerges between the two. In the same vein, the goals of FOSS and OSI are noble and can help society on many levels, but is not a direct objective for scholars. There are positive side effects for sure, but to label something as Haram or obligatory is a very tall order for scholars to achieve and requires strong precedent from the Qur’an and Sunnah.
For me personally as a Muslim Software Developer, I see this as part of my Ihsan (excellence) tool kit in my profession. We should be taking the lead to create ethical businesses that help societies and improve people’s lives. We should help our non-techie friends and family members to gain control in their digital space. And we should help build FOSS / OSI tools.
With that being said, please take my opinion as an opinion as I’m not educated as a scholar. Who knows though, I know of a few Mufti Software Engineers out there that could offer a professional opinion on this :)
Freedom in the west is a goal in and of itself that acts as a moral compass when judging tools and products. Islam values freedom, but it is not a end goal, nor is it a moral precept to base your ethics on.
This is the kind of hubris that started in the Ta’weel era (a good equivalent English word escapes me. In Arabic: “عصر التأويل”) after the rashidun period and the Tanzeel era, and accumulated in the full abandonment/replacement era (“عصر التبديل”).
The whole point of true monotheism is to be only subject to Allah and no one else. No kings. No clergy (itself an anti-islamic concept). No “intellectuals”…etc. In other words, “freedom” is at the core of Islamic creed, it’s not even something to be discussed at the jurisprudence level.
The whole point of finality of religion including sharia, is that no one can add/append to it. This relates to additional restrictions even more than additional allowances (read about the limits of restricting what’s allowed if you wish “تقييد المباح”, although that’s a luxury subject nowadays since there are no legitimate states or heads of states around).
The rest of your comment is also full of the same hubris and incoherence common in the two downfall eras, especially the abandonment/replacement one (still ongoing). The maqsidi approach immediately gives that away (the modern abandonment/replacement take, which al-Shatibi is not responsible for).
- Everything is “default-allowed” unless otherwise proven (A basic rule in jurisprudence/fiqh. In arabic: “الأصل في الأشياء الإباحة”).
- Current open-source software licenses (including the copyleft subset) are a part of enforceable legal frameworks. They are not self-enforced moral/ethical directives. None of the current popular licenses were born in an environment where sharia law is ruling, or even known. In fact, none of them were written for anything but the current capitalist world order.
- There is no legitimate “Dar Hijra” around, with real independence and a proper Shura system and with real sharia enforced (an Islamic state is named after the ability for anyone to migrate to, and become a part of, it (“hijra”), because that’s a strict first requirement 😉). Most states with majority Muslim (or supposed Muslim) populations are fake colonial constructs with client feudalistic regimes.
- All good “scholars” are either dead, in prison, in exile, or keeping a low profile. Most scholars you know, if not all, are the ones the prophet had in mind when he said: “Most hypocrites in my Umma are its scholars”, and that’s a literal quote (Arabic: “أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها”). In modernity, this generic reality became clear beyond Muslim societies (Check out “The Treason Of The Intellectuals”/“La Trahison des clercs”).
- For when a real “Dar Hijra” emerges, and this needs much much more study and elaboration, but as a starting point, the differentiation between the knowledge, and the application of knowledge in software is important. Free access to the former must be protected (“legally”), as is access to all knowledge. When it comes to the application/implementation, it’s more complicated!
- Attribution is also important and well-protected under Sharia law. So there should be no problem there. It would actually be more respectful of actual pioneers, unlike the current patent system(s), where patents get sold around and are mostly owned by big companies and trolls.
I am not Muslim (although I’ve lived in countries with large Muslim populations); just wanted to point out this is an interesting perspective.
I think most religious authorities are quiet capable of deemphasizing seemingly mandatory religious traditions/obligations when there is money at stake.
That being said, why is closed source software haram in Islam? I am genuinely curious.
I was born Muslim and I sense something off here. I think that schoolers should have made it fard kifaya to provide free software.
Like every mosque should host free software for the city from email to social media like Mastodon for example
You can get involved in your local Mosque and push for that!
… Don’t let your dreams be dreams!
Also, I believe you mean scholars not schoolers
If you go down that road (welcome to FOSS by the way! It’s really the best!), you wouldn’t be able to use many products in our modern society…
Interesting. I’m not a Muslim so I’m asking out of curiosity: upon what basis would proprietary software be haram? Is there some verse that could be interpreted that way?
I was born Muslim and I sense something off here. I think that schoolers should have made it fard kifaya to provide free software.
Like every mosque should host free software for the city from email to social media like Mastodon for example
So, there no specific verse but free software is more aligned with higher values of islam
Monopoly is haram in islam and big tech do it. Also the idea that a company could control device you own or cancel your subscription any time for any reason or no reason that contract isn’t fair and haram.
Is there some basis for it being haram? You can have strong core beliefs that don’t have to be rooted in religion, even if it wasn’t haram if you believe that you should avoid proprietary software then do so, it doesn’t really matter if Islam doesn’t care. Religious interpretations vary so wildly anyway, focus on how you interpret it.
A lot of free software stuff is self-limiting “consumer rights” advocacy. I think you should figure this out by taking a historical view of semiconductors & the software industry. The US empire is fuelling its high technology industry with the blood of the global south & then turning it into control mechanisms. What about the hardware? Non-proprietary chips are a completely new technology.
For many nations, having their own proprietary software is an important new step in this US-dominated environment, and would ultimately be a step towards a world where 100% free software is possible. Stallman is wrong sometimes, and almost always wrong about politics. His adherents won’t incorporate this, but the theological angle means you must involve the social, geopolitical element. Chips are becoming the biggest crossroads in raw # of human obligations besides oil and money [̲̅$̲̅(̲̅ ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°̲̅)̲̅$̲̅] same thing for now ig
