• Home
• Retail
• News Article

Saudi Arabia: Inflating prices of essential goods 'haram,' scholars say

JEDDAH: Most supermarkets and shops in the Kingdom increase prices of foodstuffs and other consumer goods before the holy month of Ramadan to make huge profits by exploiting the needs of people.

"This is prohibited in Islam," said Aabid Al-Sufyani, principal of the Shariah College in Najran, adding that traders should not exploit occasions such as Ramadan, Eid Al-Fitr or any other seasons to raise prices.

"Rising prices without any reason is an injustice and those who are guilty of that deserve tough punishment," the Islamic scholar said.

Al-Sufyani's opinion has been widely acclaimed by scholars as well as the general public inside and outside the Kingdom. He urged traders to fear God. "Traders should consider the interest of the public, inspired by the meaning of Islamic unity and solidarity."

He said traders who inflate prices of goods at certain times should be given deterrent punishment as their activities harm the general public, especially people on limited incomes.

A number of Al-Azhar scholars said they were in full agreement with Al-Sufyani and called for imposing stiff punishments on such traders.

Dr. Jouda Abdul Ghani Basyuni, principal of the Shariah College at Al-Azhar University, said raising prices of essential commodities during Ramadan and other seasons, without any valid reason, is prohibited in Islam and it contradicts Islamic teachings.

"It comes in the category of taking people's money through falsification," he said, adding that the Qur'an prohibits that.

"It has become a common practice that traders reach an agreement to increase prices during peak seasons to make profits. This is not allowed in Islam."

Muhammad Rafaat Othman, a member of the US-based Islamic Research Academy and Muslim Jurists' Council, said hoarding goods with the intention of increasing their prices in the market is "haram" or prohibited. "This is exploitation of people's need."

In his statement, Al-Sufyani urged traders to fear God and not cause any harm to the public by raising prices. He also advised the public to use the holy month to engage in worship instead of wasting their precious time in unnecessary shopping, giving traders an opportunity to exploit them.

Meanwhile, sources at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said its inspectors had observed considerable increases in prices of several products just before Ramadan, including prices of food products.

Inspectors also noticed that a single product is sold for different prices at different sales outlets because of the Kingdom's free economic policy.

Arab News toured a number of shops and supermarkets in Jeddah and found 8 to 30 percent increases in prices of foodstuffs.

Shoppers said any increase in prices would aggravate their problems, especially during Ramadan when expenses peak, as they are already bearing the brunt due to inflation and the recent hike in rent prices.

© Arab News 2010