A fatwa issued by Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, President of Wifaq ul Madaris Al Arabia Pakistan and Darul Uloom Karachi, has declared that purchasing goods through cryptocurrency is not permissible under Islamic law (Shariah). The religious ruling is based on the opinions of experts who concluded that cryptocurrencies do not fulfill the Islamic definition of maal, meaning lawful wealth or property.
According to the fatwa, Bitcoin, USDT (Tether), and other cryptocurrencies are not recognized as wealth under Shariah. Instead, they are considered merely digital records of numerical values held in electronic accounts. Because of this, buying or selling goods through cryptocurrency is regarded as impermissible from an Islamic perspective.
The ruling gained significant attention after it was widely shared on social media. Hassan Usmani, the son of Mufti Taqi Usmani, confirmed that the circulating fatwa is authentic and was officially issued by his father.
The fatwa was issued in response to a question from an individual who had purchased two books using cryptocurrency, including one transaction made with USDT. The individual asked whether these purchases were valid according to Islamic law and sought guidance on what should be done if they were not.
The same query also involved the purchase of a digital educational course from a person who was not authorized to sell or distribute it. According to the details provided, the original owner had prohibited copying, storing, or reselling the course. Despite these restrictions, the unauthorized seller continued distributing the material by creating a private group and sharing the course after receiving payments in cryptocurrency.
In its response, the fatwa instructed the buyer to return the books because they had been purchased through an impermissible payment method. It also ruled that purchasing the unauthorized educational course was unlawful, as it violated both Islamic principles and copyright laws. The buyer was advised not to benefit from the course in any way and to permanently delete the digital material.
The ruling highlights the importance of conducting financial transactions through Shariah compliant methods while respecting intellectual property rights. It also adds to the ongoing discussion surrounding the religious status of cryptocurrency in Islamic finance.
