Is it haram to pirate software I cannot purchase due to not having a credit card, with the intention of paying for it when I do get a credit card?

Sources

• ✓ 2:188 · Al-Baqara

  2:188 · Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall

  وَلَا تَأْكُلُوٓا۟ أَمْوَٰلَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِٱلْبَٰطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا۟ بِهَآ إِلَى ٱلْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا۟ فَرِيقًۭا مِّنْ أَمْوَٰلِ ٱلنَّاسِ بِٱلْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

  And eat not up your property among yourselves in vanity, nor seek by it to gain the hearing of the judges that ye may knowingly devour a portion of the property of others wrongfully.

• ✓ Tafsir Ibn Kathir on 2:188

  Sunni

  Tafsir Ibn Kathir · 2:188

  Ali ibn Abi Talhah and Ibn Abbas explained that this verse addresses the case when a man has wealth that is rightfully his, yet he denies the claim and disputes it before the judges, even though he knows the truth is against him and that he is knowingly consuming what is forbidden. This interpretation was also reported from Mujahid, Sa'id ibn Jubayr, Ikrimah, al-Hasan, Qatadah, al-Suddi, Muqatil ibn Hayyan, and 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam. They said: Do not dispute while you know you are in the wrong. In the two Sahih collections, it is reported on the authority of Umm Salamah that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “Indeed I am but a human, and the disputants come to me, so it may be that some of you present a stronger argument than others, and I judge accordingly. Whoever I rule in favor of when the case is truly against that person, the judgment is but a piece of fire which he may carry or leave.” This verse and the hadith indicate that a judge’s ruling does not change the intrinsic reality of the matter: what is forbidden remains forbidden, and what is lawful remains lawful. The judge’s decision is binding outwardly, but if it conflicts with the truth, the ruling’s validity is limited to appearance. The judge himself is rewarded, and the one who wrongfully plots deception bears the sin. This is why Allah says: “Do not consume each other’s wealth unjustly or use it to bribe judges in order to consume a portion of other people’s property sinfully, while you know.” The phrase “while you know” means you are aware that your claim is false and you are deceitful in your speech. Qatadah said: Know, O son of Adam, that a judge’s ruling neither makes something lawful that is forbidden, nor makes a false claim valid. The judge rules according to what seems apparent and what witnesses testify to, but he is human and can err. Know also that if someone wins a false judgment against another, their conflict will not be settled until Allah gathers them both on the Day of Resurrection, when He will judge between them with a just ruling superior to what was ruled between them in this world. Abu Hanifah said: A judge’s ruling of divorce upon a wife, even if two false witnesses testify before him, remains valid for the spouses involved, although the witnesses themselves are just people and their testimony is accepted by the judge. This ruling forbids the woman from her husband who issued the judgment, and this situation is called ‘lian’—a form of mutual cursing that makes the marital bond forbidden between them. Even if the witnesses are lying about the matter, if the judge knew about their falsehood he would punish them according to Islamic law rather than forbid the marriage. This is the more correct opinion. As for the ruling that someone who consumes unlawful wealth is a sinner, Al-Qurtubi reports consensus among the Sunni scholars that whoever takes unlawful property, even if it does not fall under the technical category of wealth, is a wrongdoer. Bishr ibn al-Mu'tamir narrated that some among the Mu'tazilites held that one does not become sinful for taking less than 200 dirhams, and no sin is incurred for anything below that amount. Al-Jibai said that sin is incurred starting from the taking of a single dirham or beyond, but no sin for something less.

• ✓ Majma al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an on 2:188

  Shia

  Majma al-Bayan fi Tafsir al-Qur'an · 2:188

  Recitation variants and linguistic notes: The phrase "and do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, nor send it [in bribery] to the rulers, so that you consume a portion of the wealth of the people wrongfully while you know [it]" contains the word "al-batil" (unjustly). Linguistically, "al-batil" is that which is fleeting or vanishing; it is said that "batala" means something has ceased or gone away. Others say that "al-batil" signifies that which is attributed to a thing contrary to its true nature—be it a report, belief, thought, or imagination. The term "al-hukm" (the ruling or judgment) refers to the one who decides between disputants and forbids each from contesting further. The verb "adala" (he sent or presented) is used for establishing one's argument; for example, "adalahu bi-hujjatihi" means he put forth his proof. This derives from the imagery of sending a bucket (dalwa) down a well; sending the 'dalwa' means to cast it down and bring it up. Thus, "adala bi-hujjatihi" metaphorically means sending or presenting a proof soundly. In the analogy of litigation to sending a bucket down a well, there are two aspects: one, it is attached to the cause by a rope (like the proof attaching to the case), and two, it moves without fixation until it reaches the bottom—like the proof proceeding without obstruction. The term "fareeq" means a separate segment or distinct party, whether human or otherwise. "Al-ithm" denotes an act deserving blame or guilt. Grammar: The verb "watadullu" (and you send) is grammatically in the jussive mood serving as a prohibition, linked to the preceding verb "wala takulu" (Do not consume). It can also be understood as being in the accusative case as an adverbial phrase with an implied "an" (that), for example, similar to the poetic line: "Do not forbid a custom and then do the same yourself," meaning not to combine contradictory actions. Meaning: God next clarifies a legal prescription within Islam as a continuation of the previous general rulings on lawful and unlawful. He says, "And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly," indicating that no person should unlawfully appropriate another's property through oppression, coercion, or invalid means, just as in the preceding command, "And do not kill yourselves," meaning do not harm one another. Some interpret this as prohibiting the taking of wealth through frivolity or gambling, since those are wrongful. Abu Ja'far is reported to have said that the "batil" here refers to false oaths used to wrongfully seize wealth. Abu Abdullah reported that the Quraysh used to gamble with their family and possessions, so God forbade that. The broader understanding encompasses all these forms, as the verse can bear all the meanings. "And send it to the judges," that is, use bribery or deliver the unlawful funds to judges or rulers. Scholars differ on what exactly is meant here. Ibn Abbas, al-Hasan, and Qatadah say it refers to trusts or deposits and money without established proof. Another opinion, held by al-Jubbai, is that it refers to orphan’s wealth placed in the care of trustees, who bring it before rulers if requested to have part distributed, thus presenting proof superficially. Yet another interpretation, from al-Kalbi, is that it signifies money taken under false testimony. The strongest view likely encompasses all these instances. "So that you consume a portion of the wealth of the people unjustly," by having the ruler issue a judgment based on appearance or bribery, while in truth the order is otherwise. "While you know"—signifying awareness that this portion is not lawfully yours, and that your judgment is invalid. This phrase intensifies the warning. Abu Abdullah (peace be upon him) said: God knows there will be rulers in this community who judge contrary to the truth. God thus forbids the believers from submitting to such rulers for judgment when they know they do not judge justly. This emphasizes that knowingly committing sin or persisting in wrongdoing while aware of it is gravely blameworthy.