retain the option to annul the sale as long as they have not yet parted. If they speak truthfully and disclose the facts, their transaction will enjoy blessing; but if they lie and conceal, the blessing of their sale will be wiped out. 1

The Sunan relate that a man owned a tree standing on another man’s land. Because the tree’s owner had to enter the property and was causing harm, the landholder complained to the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ordered the owner either to accept payment for the tree or to donate it; when he refused, the Prophet ﷺ permitted the landholder to uproot it and said to the tree’s owner, “You are only causing harm.” 2

In this case the Prophet obligated the owner, if he would not donate the tree, to sell it—demonstrating that a sale becomes compulsory when the buyer’s need requires it. How slight was that single person’s need compared with people’s universal need for food!

The same ruling applies to those who trade in food by milling grain or baking bread. It likewise applies to the lessee of a khan, marketplace stall, or public bath who has taken it on in order to profit: if people need to use those facilities and he will admit them only on his own terms, he is not allowed to do so. Instead, he is compelled to grant access for the usual rental price, just as one who buys wheat to mill and sell, or flour to bake and sell, is compelled to sell when people need what he holds. Indeed, obliging him to sell at the market price is even more appropriate.

Furthermore, if a miller or baker refuses to perform his craft and people are thereby harmed, he will be forced to resume his work, as noted earlier. If people’s need is satisfied once enough workers produce what meets the demand so that the commodity can be purchased at the customary price, no price-fixing is required. But if their need cannot be met except through setting fair prices, a just valuation will be imposed—neither unduly low nor excessive. 3