✦ Islamic Software Licenses

All ISL licenses

Version 1.0 · July 2026

This page lists the complete family of fourteen ISL licenses, software and creative works alike, each with its main terms. The home page highlights four commonly chosen variants; every variant listed here carries the same ethical use restrictions in Sections 4 and 5.

LicenseRef-ISL-P-1.0

ISL — Permissive

The adoption-friendly choice. Others may use, modify, distribute, and sell your software — the ethical restrictions travel with every copy.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Patent grant included
  • Derivatives may relicense (restrictions still bind)
Read ISL-P

LicenseRef-ISL-C-1.0

ISL — Copyleft

A waqf for your code: what is endowed to the community remains endowed. Derivatives must stay under ISL-C with source disclosed.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Derivatives stay ISL-C, source disclosed
  • Patent grant included
Read ISL-C

LicenseRef-ISL-R-1.0

ISL — Restricted

Source visible for transparency and inspection only. Use is permitted, including internal commercial use, but no modification or redistribution.

  • Source viewable
  • Use, incl. internal commercial
  • No modification
  • No redistribution
Read ISL-R

LicenseRef-ISL-EULA-1.0

ISL — EULA

A proprietary end-user license template for closed-source products. Fill in your product, keep the same ethical restrictions on every end user.

  • Closed-source distribution
  • Commercial licensing terms
  • No source access
  • No reverse engineering
Read ISL-EULA

LicenseRef-ISL-NC-1.0

ISL — NonCommercial

Free to use, modify, and share your software for non-commercial purposes only, with the same ethical restrictions binding every copy.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • No commercial use
  • Attribution required
  • No sublicensing to permit commercial use
Read ISL-NC

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-1.0

ISL — Creative Works

For non-software creative works — text, art, and media. Others may use, adapt, and share your work, including commercially, as long as they credit you.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Attribution required
  • For text, art & media, not software
Read ISL-CW

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-NC-1.0

ISL — Creative Works NonCommercial

For non-software creative works, shared for non-commercial purposes only. Others may use, adapt, and redistribute your work with attribution, but may not sell it.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • No commercial use
  • Attribution required
  • For text, art & media, not software
Read ISL-CW-NC

LicenseRef-ISL-LC-1.0

ISL — Lesser Copyleft

A weak, file-level copyleft for software. Modified files of the licensed component stay under ISL-LC, but you may link or combine with other code under different terms.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Modified files stay ISL-LC; linking/combining is free
  • Patent grant included
Read ISL-LC

LicenseRef-ISL-NETC-1.0

ISL — Network Copyleft

An AGPL-style copyleft for software. Running a modified version as a network service triggers the same source-disclosure duty as distributing it — closing the SaaS loophole.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Network use counts as distribution
  • Patent grant included
Read ISL-NETC

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-SA-1.0

ISL — Creative Works ShareAlike

For non-software creative works, any use including commercial. Adaptations must be released under ISL-CW-SA, with required attribution.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • Adaptations must share alike (ISL-CW-SA)
  • Attribution required
Read ISL-CW-SA

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-NC-SA-1.0

ISL — Creative Works NonCommercial ShareAlike

For non-software creative works, non-commercial use only. Adaptations must be released under ISL-CW-NC-SA, with required attribution.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • No commercial use
  • Adaptations must share alike (ISL-CW-NC-SA)
  • Attribution required
Read ISL-CW-NC-SA

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-ND-1.0

ISL — Creative Works NoDerivatives

For non-software creative works, any use including commercial. Share the unmodified work with required attribution — no adaptations permitted.

  • Commercial use
  • Attribution required
  • No adaptations / derivatives
  • For text, art & media, not software
Read ISL-CW-ND

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-NC-ND-1.0

ISL — Creative Works NonCommercial NoDerivatives

For non-software creative works, non-commercial use only. Share the unmodified work with required attribution — no adaptations permitted.

  • No commercial use
  • Attribution required
  • No adaptations / derivatives
  • For text, art & media, not software
Read ISL-CW-NC-ND

LicenseRef-ISL-CW-0-1.0

ISL — Creative Works Public Domain Style

The most permissive creative-works variant: no attribution required. Not a CC0-equivalent public-domain dedication — the family's ethical use restrictions in §4–§5 still bind every copy.

  • Modify & redistribute
  • Commercial use
  • No attribution required
  • Ethical restrictions still bind (not public domain)
Read ISL-CW-0

Software and creative-works licenses are evaluated on different terms, so the comparison below is split into two tables: one for the seven software licenses, one for the seven creative-works licenses.

Software licenses

Permission ISL-P ISL-C ISL-LC ISL-NETC ISL-R ISL-EULA ISL-NC
View source✦✦✦✦✦✕✦
Use commercially✦✦✦✦✦✦*✕
Modify✦✦✦✦✕✕✦
Redistribute✦✦✦✦✕✕✦
Sublicense / sell copies✦✦✦✦✕✕✕
Copyleft scope—Whole programFile-level (weak)Network / whole program———
Network use triggers source disclosure✕✕✕✦——✕
Linking/combining with other-license code✦✕✦✕——✦
Derivatives / adaptations permitted✦✦✦✦✕—✦
Adaptations must share alike✕✦✦✦——✕
Patent grant✦✦✦✦✕✕✦
Ethical use restrictions (§4–§5)✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
OSI open source✕✕✕✕✕✕✕

Creative-works licenses

Permission ISL-CW ISL-CW-NC ISL-CW-SA ISL-CW-NC-SA ISL-CW-ND ISL-CW-NC-ND ISL-CW-0
Use commercially✦✕✦✕✦✕✦
Modify✦✦✦✦✕✕✦
Redistribute✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Sublicense / sell copies✦✕✕✦✕✦✦
Derivatives / adaptations permitted✦✦✦✦✕✕✦
Adaptations must share alike✕✕✦✦——✕
Attribution required✦✦✦✦✦✦✕
Patent grant✕✕✕✕✕✕✕
Ethical use restrictions (§4–§5)✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
OSI open source✕✕✕✕✕✕✕

✦ permitted · ✕ not permitted · — not applicable · * as defined by the licensor in the EULA's commercial terms.