Digital Ownership in the Metaverse: A Jurisprudential Study

This study investigates the contemporary jurisprudential challenges posed by metaverse technologies and their new virtual reality concepts, such as cryptocurrencies and virtual assets (including digital land, real estate, goods, and avatars). The primary aim is to examine digital ownership in the metaverse from an Islamic jurisprudence perspective, focusing on adapting these novel concepts to Islamic legal principles and objectives. The research addresses whether digital assets in the virtual world can be considered real property subject to ownership rules, including buying, selling, inheriting, and disposal. It analyzes the nature of these digital assets to determine if they are merely notional values or if they acquire the status of money under Islamic law due to their market value, monetary exchange, and the possibility of possession and disposal. The study also investigates if these assets meet the conditions of Estimable property and how they fit within the classifications of wealth in Islamic jurisprudence. The research seeks to provide clear answers to these questions by relying on evidence from Islamic law, its general objectives, and the opinions of contemporary jurists on similar new issues. Ultimately, it aims to establish a legitimate legal framework for digital ownership that contributes to setting jurisprudential rules for addressing technological developments in the metaverse.