Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
1- There is no problem in purchasing lawful provisions in desired quantities so long as it does not harm others.
2- During times of hardship and crisis such as Coronavirus (COVID-19), it is a must for people to refrain from such purchasing habits that restrict others and are considered blameworthy monopolization.
Answering your question, the Resident Fatwa Committee (RFC) of AMJA states:
There is no problem in purchasing lawful provisions in desired quantities so long as it does not harm others.
Imam Al-Bukhari has dedicated a chapter in his Sahih entitled, “Storing the Family’s Foodstuffs for a Year and How to Provide for the Family.”
In this chapter, he relates the hadith of `Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who said, “Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to sell dates from the garden of Bani an-Nadir and store foodstuffs for his family that would suffice them for a year.”
This was during a time of abundance when the goods in the market were plentiful.
During times of hardship and crisis, it is a must for people to refrain from such purchasing habits that restrict others and are considered blameworthy monopolization, as reported in the hadith, “Monopolization is nothing but sin.” (Muslim)
Imam al-Nawawi stated:
“The hadith about the Prophet storing
provisions for a year permits storing provisions for a year or some other time
frame, and this does not diminish one’s reliance upon Allah. The scholars have
unanimously agreed that it is permitted for people to store what they produce
from their land, as the Prophet did. If they desire to purchase items from the
market and store them to meet their family’s needs, it would not be permitted
if there were shortages in the food supply in the market. Rather, they should
purchase what will not further deplete the supply for the Muslims, such as the
amount of a few days or a month. During times of abundance, it is permitted to
purchase foodstuffs for a year or more. These details have been reported from
many scholars by al-Qadi. He also reported, from some other scholars, the
unrestricted permissibility to do so” (Sharh Sahih Muslim, vol. 12, p. 70)
Imam Ibn Hajr stated:
“The scholars have differed regarding the permissibility of storing foodstuffs purchased from the market. Iyyad stated that some have permitted it using this hadith as proof, though it [the hadith] does not serve as evidence because it [what the Prophet stored] was harvested from the land. As a means of showing compassion for others, some [scholars] have prohibited it unless it does not harm others. The source of differing views is present when there is no hardship, otherwise [when there are shortages/hardships, they are unanimous that] such storing is impermissible” (Fath al-Bari vol. 15, p. 214)
Limiting monopolization to foodstuffs, even though some scholars have done so, is a point of contention. Rather it includes everything which is withheld or purchased beyond what is usual, at the expense of others.
The scholars have different views regarding
that which is subject to monopolization. There are those who say it applies
strictly to foodstuffs and others who say it applies to everything which people
need and are harmed due to it being hoarded. This is the view of the Malikis,
and in a narration of Imam Ahmad. This is the correct position in accordance
with the obvious nature of the hadith.
In Nayl al-Awtar, al-Shawkani stated, “That which is
obvious from the hadiths is the impermissibility of monopolizing [goods],
regardless what they are, be they foodstuffs, fodder, or otherwise. The
explicit mention of foodstuffs in some narrations is not suitable to restrict
the other narrations of a general nature. Rather they [i.e., the hadiths which
mention foodstuffs] make mention of some specific types which are included in
that which is general [i.e., those hadiths which do not mention specific types
of goods].”
In his annotations of Asna al-Matalib, al-Ramli al-Shafi`i
stated, “it should include everything which is typically needed, such as food and
clothing.”
This aligns with the wisdom behind prohibiting monopolies,
which is to prevent others from being harmed. Accordingly the Permanent
Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta in Saudi Arabia has stated in their
edict (#6374), “Because it causes harm to Muslims, it is not permissible to
store things which people need, known as monopolizing, based on the hadith of
the Prophet “Monopolizing is nothing but sin,” reported by Imams Ahmad, Muslim,
Abu Dawad, al-Nasai, and Ibn Majah. It is permissible to store goods which are
not needed by people until such time as they [those goods] become needs, and
then they may be offered in order to prevent hardship and harm” (Fatwas of
the Permanent Committee, 13/184).
The standard by which such harmful purchasing and storing of
goods is measured, is based on local standards. These standards are set by
official channels concerned with the supply of goods and managing and
regulating the flow of products in the market to customers. These regulations,
which manage and regulate the flow of products and prohibit them from creating
a diminished supply due to monopolization or bulk purchasing, should be adhered
to. If the official channels do not institute such regulations, Muslims should
consider praiseworthy local standards and limit their purchasing to the amount
which is not considered blameworthy by society in such circumstances.
Almighty Allah knows best.
Source: https://www.amjaonline.org/