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Monopoly, Exploitation and Deception are Fatal Evils and Forbidden in Islam ṢAFAR 15, 1437AH/NOVEMBER 27, 2015CE Main Elements 1. Encouragement to lawful earnings 2. Forbidding monopoly of food supplies 3. Forbidding exploitation 4. Forbidding deception: i) in kind and quality; or ii) in measure and weight 5. Dangers of these evils on individuals and community 6. Solidarity is necessary to uproot these diseases 7. Cooperation and mutual kindness are necessary at times of hardship and crises Second: Textual Indications: A. The Qur’ānic Indications 1. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you and be thankful to Allah; if it is Him you serve” (the Qur’ān, 2: 172).

2. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “O you who believe, do not consume your money between you unjustly, unless it is through a trade which is mutually agreed by you. And, do not kill yourselves; Allah is Merciful towards you. And whoever does so out of animosity and transgression, We will cast him to a Fire; and this for Allah is very easy” (the Qur’ān, 4: 29-30).

3. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “And to Midyan, their brother Shuʿayb [was sent], he said: "My people, serve Allah, you have no god besides Him. Clarity has come to you from your Lord, so give full weight and measure; and do not hold back from the people what belongs to them, and do not make corruption on the earth after it has been set right. That is better for you if you believe” (the Qur’ān, 7: 85).

4. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “And give full measure whenever you measure, and weigh with a balance that is true: this will be [for your own] good, and best in the end” (the Qur’ān, 17: 35).

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5. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “Woe to those who give short measure: those who, when they are to receive their due from [other] people, demand that it be given in full, but when they have to measure or weigh whatever they owe to others, give less than what is due!” (the Qur’ān, 83: 1-3).

6. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “He who embezzles will be brought with what he has embezzled on the Day of Resurrection” (the Qur’ān, 3: 161).

B. The Prophetic Statements: 1. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every Muslim’s blood, property and honor are unlawful to be violated by another Muslim” (reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim).

2. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he heard the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saying, “There is no flesh raised from the unlawful except that hellfire is more appropriate for it” (al-Bayhaqi in Shuʿab alImān).

3. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Allah is Good and accepts only that which is good. Indeed, Allah equally commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers saying, “O Messengers, eat of all kinds of good foods, and perform righteous deeds. Surely, I am well acquainted with what you do” (the Qur’ān, 23:51). Likewise, He says: “O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you” (the Qur’ān, 2: 172). The Prophet then went on to mentioned a man, who is undertaking a long journey with his hair unkempt and his body dusty. He raises his hands to the heavens saying, "O Lord! O Lord!" Yet his food is from the unlawful, his drink is from the unlawful, his clothing is from the unlawful, and he is nourished by the unlawful. How can that be accepted?” (Muslim's Sahih Collection of Hadith).

4. ʿUmar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: 'Whoever withholds food (and keeps it from) the Muslims, Allah will afflict him with leprosy and bankruptcy” (Reported by Ibn Majah).

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Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who withholds [commodities] for forty nights has parted himself from Allah's protection and has no guaranty for protection from Allah. Any people of a certain locality who has a hungry person amongst them will have no protection from Allah” (reported by Ahmad).

6. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who withholds [commodities] in order to raise their prices has no guaranty for protection from Allah and his messenger” (reported by Ahmad and al-Hendi in Kanz alʿUmmal, and this is al-Hendi's wording).

7. Miʿqal Ibn Yasar (may Allah be pleased with him) said that he heard the Prophet saying, “He who interferes with the prices of Muslims in order to raise them, it is Allah's asserted promise to seat him in the most painful place of hellfire on the Day of Resurrection” (Reported by Ahmad).

According to alBayhaqi's narration in al-Sunan al-Kubra: “It is Allah's certain promise to cast him in most painful place of hellfire on the Day of Resurrection.”

8. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet passed by a pile of food. He put his fingers in it and felt wetness. He said, “O owner of the food! What is this?' He replied: 'It was rained upon, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'Why not put it on top of the food, so the people can see it?'

Then he said: 'Whoever cheats, he is not one of us' (AlTirmidhi in his sunan).

9. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who deceives is not from us” (Muslim's Sahih Collection of Hadith).

10. Abu Musa (may He be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “When the people of Ashʿari tribe ran short of food in battles, or the food of their families in Medina ran short, they would collect all their remaining food in one sheet and then distribute it among themselves equally by measuring it with a bowl. So, 5.

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these people are from me, and I am from them” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

11. ʿAbdullah Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A Muslim is a brother of his fellow Muslim. He should not oppress him nor should he hand him over to [evils]. If anyone fulfills his brother's needs, Allah will fulfill his needs” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

12. Jaber Ibn ʿAbdullah (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “May Allah show mercy to a man who is kind when he sells, buys and demands for the repayment of loans” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

Third: Topic Universality as an essential characteristic of Islam is symbolic of the greatness of Islam as an inclusive religion containing all life aspects. It leaves no matter that concerns people but provides the optimal efficacious treatment for it in Allah's Book and His Prophet's Sunnah. Islam is actually the only faith that achieves happiness for individuals and communities alike through its tolerant teachings befitting the nature of humankind.

Human souls essentially long for wealth as the backbone of human life's system. The Islamic tolerant Sharīʿah encourages hard work for good earnings through the lawful means making all good ways, which are free of violation, wrongdoing and harm, permissible.

Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you and be thankful to Allah; if it is Him you serve” (the Qur’ān, 2: 172).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Allah is Good and accepts only that which is good. Indeed, Allah equally commanded the believers as He commanded the Messengers saying: “O Messengers, eat of all kinds of good foods, and perform righteous deeds. Surely, I am well acquainted with what you do” (the Qur’ān, 23:51). Likewise, He says: “O you who believe, eat from the good things We have provided for you” (the Qur’ān, 2: 172). The Prophet then went on to mentioned a man, who is undertaking a long journey

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with his hair dishevelled and his body dusty. He raises his hands to the heavens saying: "O Lord! O Lord!" Yet his food is from the unlawful, his drink is from the unlawful, his clothing is from the unlawful, and he was nourished by the unlawful. How can that be accepted?” (Reported by Muslim in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

Consequently, the Islamic Sharīʿah encourages ease and facility, tolerance and kind treatment in sale transactions in a refined manner of searching after profit without wronging or burdening people. It also inculcates sympathy in hearts of Muslims towards their fellow Muslims for the achievement of a blessed sustenance and sustainable prosperity making it a grand reflection of mercy and benevolence.

Jaber Ibn ʿAbdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “May Allah show mercy to a man who is kind when he sells, buys and demands for the repayment of loans” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith). According to the narration of al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhi (may Allah rest his soul in peace), Jaber said that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Indeed, Allah forgave a man of the earlier generations before you, because he was kind when he sold, kind when he bought and kind when demanded for the repayment of loans.”

The sale transactions is basically built on the scales of justice, truthful statements and transparency apart from wrongdoing, fraud and abuse of people's needs. This is the way to attain a blessed sale. ʿAbdullah Ibn al-Ḥarith said, I have heard Ḥakīm Ibn Ḥizām relating that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Both parties in a transaction have the right to dissolute the transaction so long as they have not parted. If they both speak the truth and describe the defects and qualities (of the goods), they will be blessed in their transaction, and if they told lies or hid defects, their transaction will suffer loss of blessings” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

The ill-gotten gains incur many evils and bad consequences. The Islamic Sharīʿah is thus precautious to prescribe the necessary standards for sales and other commercial transactions to guarantee balance between the traders' longing for profits and the consumers' keenness to meet their needs. Thus, any stratagem that manipulate with food supplies and necessary needs of people is forbidden to disruption of Muslim good and kind relations. For example,

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monopolizing necessary commodities of people, exploitative activities, all forms of deception and adulteration, manipulation with food supplies and commodities and other similar malpractices that endanger the national economy and negatively affect the social and societal needs are all forbidden.

Monopoly signifies the control of a good or service and refusal to sell it or the attempt to control the good or service in markets with the aim of raising prices and achieving more profits against the interests of people and society and even against the national security of the country. Monopoly is symbolic of lowliness and immoral conduct.

The gracious Prophet thus proscribes all kinds of monopoly and storing commodities for higher prices. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who withholds [commodities] in order to raise their prices is sinful and he has no guaranty for protection from Allah” (reported by Ahmad).

Evidently, this statement indicates the proscription of exploiting people's needs or manipulating with their food supplies and necessary commodities. For the pure faith of Islam, the profit of these abuses is unlawful and ill-gotten gains. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “O you who believe, do not consume your money between you unjustly, unless it is through a trade which is mutually agreed by you. And do not kill yourselves; Allah is Merciful towards you” (the Qur’ān, 4: 29).

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Every Muslim’s blood, property and honor are unlawful to be violated by another Muslim” Related by al-Bukkari and Muslim.

A person who practices monopoly has no morals or national affiliation. His personal selfishness and vices overcome his all considerations.

He thus manipulates with the food supplies and essential means of people's life building his wealth at the expenses of people's hardship and difficulties. This mere practice harms people whereas Islam commands Muslims to keep to mercy and refrain from exploiting the public needs. ʿUmar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said, “I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: 'Whoever withholds food (and keeps it from) the Muslims, Allah will afflict him with leprosy and bankruptcy” (Reported by Ibn Majah).

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Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who withholds [commodities] for forty nights has parted himself from Allah's protection and has no guaranty for protection from Allah. Any people of a certain locality who has a hungry person amongst them will have no protection from Allah” (reported by Ahmad).

Actually, it incurs the wrath of Allah and the wrath and hate of people in their supplications as well. It is no doubt that monopoly and higher prices lead to evil consequences on individuals and society alike. Only destruction and devastation follow them, because of the evils of higher prices that undermine Muslim trade and industry, limit the means to work and earnings and disseminate rancor, hate, enmity and grudge in the society. They disintegrate society and disrupt relationship between individuals, let alone the economic and social evils that follow, such as unemployment, inflation, depression, bribery, favoritism, hypocrisy, theft and deception. For all this, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Only a sinful person hoards” (reported by Muslim).

Let doers of monopoly and exploitation know that the extra profits they earn from monopoly and exploitation are unlawful and forbidden in Sharīʿah. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “He who embezzles will be brought with what he has embezzled on the Day of Resurrection” (the Qur’ān, 3: 161). Worse and worse indeed is the curse they incur on themselves parting themselves from Allah's mercy and falling deprived of the protection of Allah and His Messenger while suffering the menace of painful torment promised. ʿUmar Ibn al-Khattab said, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “One who brings forth goods [to markets] is decreed to good provision whereas the one who hoards is damned” [reported by al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra]. Forbidden instances in Islam include all forms of deception and adulteration in transactions; deception is a fatal evil and dangerous defect whose danger is not confined to individuals, but extends to the whole society. It is a reflection of telling lies, which is symbolic of hypocrisy. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “He who deceives is not from us” (reported by Muslim).

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Deception may be in kind or quality such as hiding bad things in good ones and selling them as if they are all good and intact without clarification of defects.

In this regard, the Prophet once passed by a pile of food. He put his fingers in it and felt wetness. He said, “O owner of the food! What is this?' He replied: 'It was rained upon, O Messenger of Allah.' He said: 'Why not put it on top of the food, so the people can see it?'

Then he said: 'Whoever cheats, he is not one of us” (reported by Muslim).

In the same manner deceptions may occur in types and quality, it may be in measure by cheating in measures and weights. Allah imposes fair and well-balanced measure; He (may He be Exalted) says, “And give full measure when you deal, and weigh with a balance that is straight. That is good and better in the end” (the Qur’ān, 17: 35). Prophet Shuʿayb (may Allah's peace be upon him) warned his people against holding back people's properties and cheating measure and weight. The Qur’ān records his statement in Allah's saying, “And my people, give full in the measure and the weight equitably, and do not hold back from the people what is theirs, and do not act wickedly on earth spreading corruption” (the Qur’ān, 11: 85).

This kind of deception leads its doers to hellfire. The Qur’ān threatens those, who cheat in measure and weight, with awful punishment and loss. Allah (may He be Exalted) says, “Woe to those who give short measure: those who, when they are to receive their due from [other] people, demand that it be given in full, but when they have to measure or weigh whatever they owe to others, give less than what is due!” (the Qur’ān, 83: 1-3).

Ismaʿīl Ibn ʿUbayd Ibn Rifaʿah narrated from his father that his grandfather Rifaʿah said, we went out in the company of the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) while people were involved in sales early in the morning. He called upon them: “O merchants!” When they looked up and craned their necks, he said: “The merchants will be raised on the Day of Resurrection as wicked people except for those who fear Allah and act righteously and speak the truth” (Ibn Majah).

O cheater, you are exposed to the invocation of the wronged person to the All-Hearing Lord of complaints

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Eat the lawful and keep from the unlawful, for you cannot bear the hellfire of the hereafter A merchant who withholds goods to raise their prices for no good reason, or cheats people and hides defects and faults, or gives less than due in measure or weight, or manipulates with people's food supplies and necessary goods is eating unlawful gains. A merchant must tell the truth in sales and keep away from deception, cheating and treachery. He should tell the truth in his sales to receive the great reward. It is enough merit and excellence for him to win paradise by Allah's grace and mercy. Imam al-Tirmidhi narrated that Abu Saʿīd (may He be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “The trustworthy, honest Muslim merchant will be with the prophets, the truthful and the martyrs.”

The eternal Islamic law calls for all good things and fights against all corrupt and harmful evils that may befall individuals or the community. It proscribes all deceptive kinds of sales and transactions whereby food supplies and people's needs are manipulated, for their harmful consequences on individuals and communities.

Actually, they result in hate and grudge, and disrupt the strong ties of love, kindness and mercy among all the members of the community. Finally, a case of chaos may follow, which may lead to bloodshed and violation of people's properties.

All efforts must be united to develop mechanisms for overcoming monopoly activities in all essential economic areas, and eliminating evils that endanger the stability of society paralleled with hard work to relieve people, especially the poorest and neediest classes, is also necessary.

Kind collaboration, mutual mercy and cooperation are necessary to encounter these dangers, especially at times of hardships and crises to achieve the principle of the believers' fraternity preached in the Glorious Qur’ān, as Allah (may He be Exalted) says: “The Believers are but brothers” (the Qur’ān, 49: 10). Allah also says, “And the believing males and the believing females are allies of one another; they enjoin good and forbid evil, observe the prayer, pay the charity and obey Allah and His messenger. Allah will have mercy on them; Allah is Noble, Wise” (the Qur’ān, 9: 71). ʿAbdullah Ibn ʿUmar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) related that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said, “A Muslim is a brother of his fellow Muslim. He should not oppress him nor should he hand him over to [evils]. If anyone fulfills his brother's needs, Allah will fulfill his needs” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

This fact comes apparently true during the lifetime of the Prophet in several situations including the case of Ashʿari tribe who gave the most

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wonderful example unveiling the nature of men at hard times. Abu Musa (may He be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: “When the people of Ashʿari tribe ran short of food in battles, or the food of their families in Medina ran short, they would collect all their remaining food in one sheet. They would then distribute it among themselves equally by measuring it with a bowl. So, these people are from me and I am from them.” (Reported by al-Bukhari in his Sahih Collection of Hadith).

It is a practical example in which all individual selfish motives are removed. They jointly recall the spirit of union and fraternity coupled by the virtues of love and altruism: “they would collect all their remaining food in one sheet.” They feel they all form one body whose life is conditional upon kindness, mutual mercy, solidarity, cooperation and friendship: “then distribute it among themselves equally by measuring it with a bowl.” The prophet's concluding comment thus comes to crown this wonderful act granting them the highest medal ever awarded in the Muslim state: “these people are from me and I am from them.”