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condition (Compiled by al-Bukhâri and Muslim.), unless they were to be picked on the spot Similarly, he
forbade selling ears of corn until they were white and safe from bright, (Compiled by Muslim) saying, “Tell
me why, if Allâh withholds the fruit, any of you should take his brother’s property.” (Compiled by al-Bukhâri
and others.)
However, not every sale involving what is unknown or uncertain is prohibited; for example, a person may
buy a house without knowing the condition of its foundation or what is inside the walls. What is prohibited is
selling something about which there is an obvious element of uncertainty which may lead to dispute and
conflict, or may result in the unjust appropriation of other people’s money. Again, if the risk of uncertainty is
small—and this is determined by experience and custom—the sale is not prohibited. For example, one may
sell root vegetables such as carrots, onions, and radishes while they are still in the ground, or fields of
cucumbers, watermelons and the like. In the opinion of Imam Malik, all such sales of needed items in which
the margin of risk is bearable are permissible. (In Al-qawa‘id al-nuraniyyah, p. 118, Ibn Taimiyyah says: “The
principles laid down by (Imam) Malik concerning sales are superior to those of others, because he took them
from Sa‘id ibn al-Musayyib, who is the best authority on the fiqh (jurisprudence) of sales.” Imam Ahmad bin
Hanbal’s opinion is close to that of Malik.)
Price Manipulation
In Islâm the market is to be free and permitted to respond to the natural laws of supply and demand. Thus,
when the prices became high in the Prophet’s time and people asked him to fix prices for them, he replied,
Allâh is the One Who fixes prices, Who withholds, Who gives lavishly, and Who provides, and I hope that
when I meet Him none of you will have a claim against me for any injustice with regard to blood or property.
(Reported by Ahmad, Abû Daoud, al-Tirmidhî , Ibn Mâjah, al-Dari and Abû Y‘ala.)
With these words the Prophet of Islâm (s.a.w.s.) declared that unnecessary interference in the freedom of
individuals is injustice and that one should meet Allâh free of blame for such a thing. If, however, any
artificial forces, such as hoarding and manipulation of prices by certain merchants, interfere in the free
market, public interest takes precedence over the freedom of such individuals. In such a situation price
control becomes permissible in order to meet the needs of the society and to protect it from greedy
opportunists by thwarting their schemes, for the above hadith does not mean that price control is prohibited
regardless of the circumstances, even if it removes harm and prevents obvious injustice. Researchers
among scholars have concluded that, depending on the nature of the circumstances, price control may at
times be unjust and prohibited, and at other times may be just and permissible.
If price control compels people to sell their goods at a price which is not acceptable to them or denies them
the reasonable profit permitted by Allâh, it is haram. If, on the other hand, price control establishes equity
among people, for example, by forcing sellers to accept a price equal to that commanded by other
comparable commodities and restraining them from taking more than this, it is allowed—indeed necessary.
The hadith cited above relates to the first type of situation. Accordingly, if merchants are selling a commodity
in the custUmary fashion without any wrong-doing on their part and the price subsequently rises due to the
scarcity of the commodity or due to an increase in population (indicating the operation of the law of supply
and demand), this circumstance is from Allâh, in which case to force them to sell the commodity at a fixed
price would be unjust compulsion.
In relation to the second type of situation, should the dealers in a commodity refuse to sell it, despite the fact
that people are in need of it, unless they secure a price higher than its known value, they must be compelled
to sell it at a price equal to the price of an equivalent commodity. Price control here means nothing more
than establishing comparable prices for equivalent commodities and it is therefore in conformity with the
standard of justice demanded by Allâh Ta‘ala. (Refer to Risalat al-hisbah by Ibn Taimiyyah, as well as to Al-
turuq al-hikmiyyah by Ibn al-Qayyim, p. 214 ff.)
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The Condemnation of Hoarding
Freedom for individual and natural competition in the marketplace is guaranteed by Islâm. Nevertheless,
Islâm severely condemns those who, driven by ambition and greed, accumulate wealth at the expense of
others and become rich by manipulating the prices of food and other necessities. This is why the Prophet
(s.a.w.s.) denounced hoarders in very strong words, saying, “If anyone withholds grain for forty days out of
the desire for a high price, Allâh will renounce him.” (Reported by Ahmad, al-Hakim, Ibn Abû Shaybah, and
al-Bazzar.)
He also said, “If anyone withholds goods until the price rises, he is a sinner.” (Compiled by Muslim.)
And the term “sinner” here is not to be tlightly. It is thesame epithet which Allâh Ta‘ala has applied to some
of the great tyrants in history, for example:...Assuredly Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts were sinners.
(28:8)
The Prophet (s.a.w.s.) also said, “The man who hoards goods is evil. If prices fall he is grieved and if they
rise he is happy” (Razi has mentioned this hadith in his Jami‘ah.), thereby exposing the selfish and greedy
mentality of hoarders. Again, he said, “He who brings goods to the market is blessed with bounty, but he
who withholds them is cursed.” (Reported by Ibn Mâjah and al-Hakim.)
There are two ways of making a profit in a business. One is to withhold the commodity from the market until
it becomes scarce and those who need it are unable to find it; then, compelled by their need, they come to
the hoarder and pay him the price he demands, although it may be unreasonably high. The other way is to
put the commodity on the market, sell it for a reasonable profit, buy more goods and sell them in like
manner, and so on. Since this latter practice serves the public interest, a merchant who practices it is both
blessed by Allâh and well-provided for, as the foregoing hadith states.
A very important hadith concerning hoarding and manipulating prices has been narrated by M‘aqal bin
Yassar, a companion of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.). The Umayyed governor, ‘Ubaidullah bin Ziyad, came to visit
M‘aqal when he was bedridden due to a grave illness. After inquiring about his condition, ‘Ubaidullah asked
him, “Do you know of any instance of my having wrongfully shed someone’s blood?” M‘aqal replied that he
did not. “Do you know of any instance,” ‘Ubaidullah continued, “in which I interfered with the prices of the
Muslims‘ goods?” M‘aqal again replied that he did not know. Then M‘aqal asked the people to help him to
sit up, which they did. He then said, “Listen, O ‘Ubaidullah, and I will tell you something which I heard from
Allâh’s Messenger (s.a.w.s.). I heard Allâh’s Messenger (s.a.w.s.) say, ‘Whoever interferes with the prices of
the Muslims‘ goods in order to raise them deserves that Allâh should make him sit in the Fire on the Day of
Resurrection.’ “Did you hear this from Allâh’s Messenger (s.a.w.s.)?” asked ‘Ubaidullah, and M‘aqal replied,
“More than once or twice.” (Reported by Ahmad and al-Tabarani.)
On the basis of the text and content of these foregoing ahadith, scholars have deduced that hoarding is
prohibited under two conditions: one, that hoarding at a given time is injurious to the people of that country,
and two, that the hoarder’s aim is to force the price up in order to make more profit.
Interference in the Free Market
Another practice related to hoarding which was prohibited by the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) was a townsman’s
selling on behalf of a man from the desert. Scholars have explained the situation in the following manner: a
stranger would bring some goods to be sold in town at the current market price. A townsman would
approach him, saying, “Leave them with me for a while. I will sell them for you when the price is better.”
Had the non-resident himself sold his goods, he would have done so for a lower price, thereby benefiting the
people, while he himself would have made a reasonable profit.
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