in storage, they are obliged to sell it, and the ruler must compel them to do so or sell it on their behalf. This is an obligation that may be discharged through a representative, so they must be compelled to fulfil what Islamic law requires of them. It is a right belonging to the Muslims that is in their possession, and must therefore be secured from them.

The same applies to everything people urgently need, such as clothing, weapons and other things their owners can do without: they must make it available at its fair market value. I have previously recorded the hadith of Samurah ibn Jundub concerning the owner of the palm tree whom the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, ordered to sell it, but who refused. I explained how it establishes the obligation to enter into an exchange needed by the buyer when this causes no harm to the seller.

For this reason, the Lawgiver prohibited hoarding that harms people, as in the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him:

“Only a sinner hoards.”

This was narrated by Muslim, and there are other reports to this effect. A hoarder is someone who buys for trade; but because he buys what he does not need in a way that harms people, this is forbidden to him. Buying and selling are, in principle, permissible rather than obligatory. Yet people’s needs may make selling obligatory in one instance and buying forbidden in another. This concerns the transaction itself.

As for the amount of the price, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, prohibited a town-dweller from selling on behalf of a desert-dweller because of the harm caused to the buyer when the town-dweller acts as a sales agent for someone bringing goods into town while people need those goods. This may be adduced as evidence for