Learning Skills and Crafts Online From Non-Muslims
Fatwa No: 380589

Question

1) is it permitted for women to learn cooking, art,craft,stitching, & other halal skills/activities/things/hobbies from others both in real life & online ? Or it is regarded stealing other's idea & sin? Is it kind of copyright violation?2) if it is permitted as a female can I learn those both Muslim / righteous/hijabi women & non Muslim/ sinner/non hijabi women ?.

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.

There is no harm for a woman to learn these skills and crafts by watching video clips on the internet or thorough other means, like books that teach them.

Watching these clips is not regarded to be stealing other people's ideas, because posting these clips on public sites for people to watch indicates that they permit people to watch and benefit from them. However, if one copies them or republishes them, then one should be mindful of the conditions set by their owners, if they had set any.

Even if the owner of the material permits people to republish them, one must still mention their references out of honesty and as a way of guarding people’s intellectual property rights.

It does not matter if the one teaching these skills and crafts is a Non-Muslim woman. A Muslim woman can learn from female Muslims or Non-Muslims.

Allah knows best.

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