Question:
Assalamu alaykum. Is it permissible to sell Islamic publications, which may include the glorious Qur'an, for profit as a business. I have heard that there is some saying in the Sharee'ah about people who sell Allah's verses. Kindly guide me on this matter.
Fatwa:
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.
It is permissible to sell the religious books [books of knowledge and Fiqh] even though some scholars disliked it. However, the most preponderant opinion is that it is permissible to sell the books of knowledge and this is not disliked.
It is not disliked to sell such books because if people were to stop selling them, then religious knowledge would disappear.
As regards the Quranic verses which threaten the sale of the Verses of Allah, as Allah Says (what means): {And do not exchange My Signs for a small price.}[Quran 2:41]; then it does not mean what you mentioned in the question, rather it means something else, among which is what Ibn Katheer said about it: “It means do not abandon believing in My Signs and in My Prophet because of being preoccupied by this worldly life and its desires as it is a temporary pleasure.”
Allah Knows best.
Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb