Miscellaneous

Clarification regarding the fatwa of printing press and speakers being impermissible

Q:

1. I want to ask about a matter that I am very disturbed about. I recently came to know that in 1436, in Europe, Gutenberg made the printing press, and millions of books by the end of books by the end of fifteenth century had been printed and sold, thus increasing the overall educational level of the European population. However, in the Muslim world, especially in the Ottoman Empire, it was the opposite. Ulama gave the fatwa that printing press is Haram, and thus, in 1485, the Sultan Bayezid II of Ottoman Empire declared printing press as Haram. And in 1515, the Ottoman Sultan Selim I, declared that anyone found using printing press in Ottoman lands, would be executed. I know that there must be some reason for which Ulama said that it is Haram. And I sometimes even get Waswaas about the truth of Ulama. Please can you tell me a clarifying answer.

2. Another same question is about the speaker. First Ulama said that it is Haram but later declared it as permissible. So I am confused that did Allah Na'oozubillah make a different law for different people of different times?

Sharing YouTube videos with people

Q: I follow the opinion of Shaykh Ibn Uthaymeen regarding piracy where he says: "In my view, if a person copies them for his own personal use, there is no harm in that. However, if he copies them for trade purposes, this is not permissible since it involves causing harm to others."

I use a website to download youtube videos for personal use so I can share them with family. Is this permissible as I know there can be issues with copyright in some countries. I’m from the UK. In cases like this, when does the ‘law of the land’ take precedence over Shari’ah? If ever? I don’t really fear any legal consequences although I know there are copyright laws here.