Document Type : Original Article
Author
Associate Professor, Department of Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law, Faculty of Theology, University of Mazandaran
Abstract
Highlights
**Conclusion**
Undoubtedly, given that many forms of data possess the attribute of *māliyyah* (recognizable financial/pecuniary value), the act of *ghaṣb* (usurpation; wrongful appropriation) of data in cyberspace can occur. This constitutes the unlawful seizure and control over another party's electronic data that holds such financial value. Among the instances of data usurpation in the virtual realm, two pertinent examples are: 1) rendering computer data unusable, and 2) deploying ransomware.
Regarding the *ḥukm taklīfī* (prescriptive ruling, indicating obligation/prohibition) and the *ḥukm waḍʿī* (declaratory ruling, establishing legal effects) pertaining to this form of usurpation, it must be stated: Unquestionably, in both instances, the prescriptive ruling for this type of *ghaṣb* can be deemed *ḥarām* (religiously prohibited), based on rational proof (*dalīl al-ʿaql*), the customary practice of reasonable persons (*banāʾ al-ʿuqalāʾ*), and the unqualified/absolute import (*iṭlāq*) of the relevant Quranic verses and narrations (*āyāt wa riwāyāt*). Furthermore, by considering the unqualified nature of the textual evidence underpinning the principle of *iḥtirām al-māl* (the inviolability of property), the principle of *ʿalā al-yad* (liability arising from possession/custody), and the principle of *lā ḍarar* (prohibition of harm), its declaratory ruling is established as *ḍamān* (legal liability for compensation) for both the *ʿayn* (principal asset/data itself) and its *manfaʿah* (usufruct/utility).
Moreover, objections such as the presence of a *qadr mutayaqqin* (restrictive certainty; a definitively known subset) or *inṣirāf* (contextual/pragmatic narrowing of a term's meaning) cannot preclude reliance on the absolute meanings (*iṭlāqāt*). This is because the *qadr mutayaqqin* in question is of the *kharījī* (external, i.e., pertaining to the subject matter's reality) type. As for *inṣirāf*, its basis is not predominant usage (*kathrat al-istiʿmāl*) but rather existential prevalence (*ghalbat al-wujūdī*) [of tangible property historically], and thus neither can obstruct recourse to the general applicability of the texts.
Likewise, one cannot, by invoking the immediate mental association (*tabādur*) of physical, tangible assets with the term *māl* (property) in the verses and narrations, restrict the rulings therein to tangible property alone, and consequently fail to establish the prohibition (*ḥurmah*) and liability (*ḍamān*) for the usurpation of virtual assets and data. This is because the validity of *tabādur* as an indicator (*ʿalāmah*) of the term's *ḥaqīqah* (primary, literal meaning) is itself contested. Furthermore, even assuming its acceptance as such an indicator, *tabādur* is a subjective, introspective (*wijdānī*) phenomenon. By appealing to this very introspection, one can claim that the immediate association today encompasses both tangible and virtual property. Additionally, even assuming the initial *tabādur* of tangible property from the term *māl* in the revelatory texts, one cannot facilely relegate the non-initially-associated meaning—namely, virtual assets and data—to the status of a *majāzī* (figurative, non-literal) meaning of the term *amwāl* (properties).
Keywords
Main Subjects
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