Pirated Movies, Drama, and Games in the Past and Now Regrets It

24-11-2021 | IslamWeb

Question:

I have been pirating movies/drama/anime and games, in my life..now I’m 18years old trying to learn Islam.., What should I do about the games and films that I watch n play illegally in the past? Isn’t it same with stealing? So what should I do? Buy the original games and rewatch the movies/anime in legal sites or buy the original movies so the company will gain income? Plz tell me what to do..I’m afraid I’ll get punished in the judgement day. And plz don’t redirect me to other fatwas. I still learning english but I hope u understand

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

If the movies, cartoons, and games that you watched without the permission of their owners, contain what is forbidden, then it is not permissible for you to watch them. You must repent to Allah Almighty from whatever you have watched.

You are not required to do anything about the rights of the owners of these movies, cartoons, and games.

As for what was permissible and free of what is forbidden, then the view that we adopt here in Islamweb is that it is an obligation to seek the forgiveness and pardon of the people whom you transgressed their rights, either by asking them to forgive you, or that you return to them the value of the benefit they missed due to your watching, if you are able to do that. If you are not able to return the rights to their owners, then you may give in charity its value or spend it in benevolence venues and public interests.

Some scholars are of the view that you do not have to do anything, on the grounds that what is prohibited to benefit from without the permission of their owners is what is used to gain profit from or for trade, contrarily to what is used for personal use [i.e. this is not forbidden].

Allah knows best.