Is Hoarding Restricted Only to Food Items?
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
① Majority (Jumhoor, Shafi'iyyah)
Hoarding applies only to food items consumed by humans and animals.
② Imam Malik (رحمه الله)
Hoarding is prohibited in both food and non-food items.
③ Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمه الله)
Anything whose withholding causes hardship to people falls under hoarding, even if it is gold or clothing.
The majority of scholars did not interpret the general Ahadith on hoarding as restricted to those mentioning ṭaʿām (food), because there is no contradiction between them. Rather, the restriction was made solely for the removal of harm from the public or due to the personal opinion of the Companion (narrator). However, the reason why Hazrat Maʿmar (رضي الله عنه) applied this restriction is unknown. It is possible that he did so for the same wise reasoning adopted by the majority.
References:
Sharḥ Muslim 43/11, Subul al-Salām 3/1090, Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī 4/549, Ḍawʾ al-Nahār 3/1237, Mirqāt 6/110, Al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 3/319
Hazrat ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من احتكر على الناس طعامهم ضربه الله بالجذام والافلاس
"Whoever hoards people's grain, Allah will afflict him with leprosy and bankruptcy."
Reference:
Weak: Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 472, Kitāb al-Tijārat, Bāb al-Tijārah wa al-Jalb, Ibn Mājah 2155. Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) has considered its chain ḥasan. Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/81
Hoarding of any item — whether food or otherwise — is prohibited when people are in need of it and the hoarder intends to raise its price for the Muslims.
Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār 3/604
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Opinions of the Scholars
① Majority (Jumhoor, Shafi'iyyah)
Hoarding applies only to food items consumed by humans and animals.
② Imam Malik (رحمه الله)
Hoarding is prohibited in both food and non-food items.
③ Imam Abu Yusuf (رحمه الله)
Anything whose withholding causes hardship to people falls under hoarding, even if it is gold or clothing.
Reasoning of the Majority
The majority of scholars did not interpret the general Ahadith on hoarding as restricted to those mentioning ṭaʿām (food), because there is no contradiction between them. Rather, the restriction was made solely for the removal of harm from the public or due to the personal opinion of the Companion (narrator). However, the reason why Hazrat Maʿmar (رضي الله عنه) applied this restriction is unknown. It is possible that he did so for the same wise reasoning adopted by the majority.
References:
Sharḥ Muslim 43/11, Subul al-Salām 3/1090, Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī 4/549, Ḍawʾ al-Nahār 3/1237, Mirqāt 6/110, Al-Baḥr al-Zakhkhār 3/319
Hadith with the Restriction of “Food”
Hazrat ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه) narrates that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
من احتكر على الناس طعامهم ضربه الله بالجذام والافلاس
"Whoever hoards people's grain, Allah will afflict him with leprosy and bankruptcy."
Reference:
Weak: Ḍaʿīf Ibn Mājah 472, Kitāb al-Tijārat, Bāb al-Tijārah wa al-Jalb, Ibn Mājah 2155. Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) has considered its chain ḥasan. Fatḥ al-Bārī 5/81
Preferred Opinion (Rājiḥ)
Hoarding of any item — whether food or otherwise — is prohibited when people are in need of it and the hoarder intends to raise its price for the Muslims.
Reference: Nayl al-Awṭār 3/604
