Mufti Taqi Usmani issues fatwa declaring cryptocurrency purchases impermissible under Shariah

Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, President of Wifaq-ul-Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan and Darul Uloom Karachi, has issued a religious ruling declaring that the purchase of goods using cryptocurrency is not permissible under Shariah, The News reported. 

According to the fatwa, cryptocurrency does not qualify as maal (property or wealth) under Islamic law based on the findings and opinions of experts consulted so far. It describes cryptocurrency as merely a record of notional numbers in an account.

The ruling states that purchasing goods using cryptocurrency is impermissible, regardless of whether payment is made through USDT (Tether) or any other crypto token.

The News cited Hassan Usmani, son of Mufti Taqi Usmani, confirming that the fatwa circulating on social media is authentic and was issued by his father.

The fatwa was issued in response to a query from a person who said he had purchased two books using cryptocurrency, including one transaction made with USDT, and sought guidance on whether the purchases were valid under Islamic law.

The ruling advised the questioner to return the books to the seller, stating that the transactions were not permissible under Shariah.

The query also sought guidance on purchasing a digital educational course from a person who was not authorised to sell it. According to the question, the original owner had prohibited copying, retaining or reselling the course, but the seller had kept a copy and sold it to others after receiving payment in cryptocurrency.

The fatwa said acquiring the course in that manner was also impermissible and violated the law. It instructed the questioner not to derive any benefit from the course and to permanently delete the digital material.