buy bread in the markets. If these traders were allowed to buy the wheat brought to market for the people and sell flour and bread at whatever price they wished, despite people’s need for that wheat, this would cause great harm. These are merchants who must pay zakat on their merchandise according to the four imams and the majority of Muslim scholars. The same obligation applies to anyone who buys something intending to resell it at a profit, whether or not he does any work on it, and whether he buys food, clothing or livestock. It applies equally to a travelling merchant who transports goods from one town to another, one who holds goods until demand is brisk, and one who continually buys and sells, like a shopkeeper. All these must pay zakat on their merchandise.
If they are obliged to produce flour and bread because people need them, they are compelled to do so, as explained above. Alternatively, they may voluntarily undertake to supply what people need, without any particular individual being compelled. In either case, prices are set for their flour and wheat: they may sell wheat and flour only at the customary price for comparable goods, allowing them a reasonable profit without harming either themselves or the public.
Scholars have differed over price regulation in two cases.
The first is when there is a prevailing price and some people wish to sell above it. According to Mālik’s school, they are prevented from doing so in the market. But are they also prevented from selling below it? There are two opinions within the school.
As for al-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad’s followers, such as Abū Hafs al-ʿUkbarī and Judge