What Is Ihtikar (Hoarding)? The Prohibition of Profiteering in Islam

21 June 2026 · gndzlp · ~9 min read

Why does the price of a good sometimes suddenly skyrocket? Pulling staples such as flour, bread or medicine off the shelves during times of scarcity in order to sell them at a higher price has, throughout history, been one of the injustices that angers people most. Islam addresses this behaviour through the concept of ihtikar and clearly does not tolerate it. In this article we examine, with examples, what ihtikar is, under what conditions it is considered forbidden, how it differs from ordinary trade, and the ethics of halal earning that Islam encourages in its place.

Note: This article is for general guidance only. For rulings specific to your situation, please consult a qualified scholar or a reliable religious authority such as Turkey's Diyanet.

What does the word "ihtikar" mean?

"Ihtikar" is a word of Arabic origin that, in the dictionary, means "to accumulate, to store and hide away, to withdraw from the market." As a term, it means withdrawing goods that people need from the market and stockpiling them so that prices rise, thereby creating scarcity. In English this is usually called "profiteering," "black marketeering," or "hoarding."

The key concept here is intent: the aim is not to meet a natural need, but to create an artificial scarcity and profit from the hardship it inflicts on society. This is precisely the intention that Islam opposes.

The ruling on ihtikar in Islam

In Islamic sources, trade is largely encouraged; commerce is regarded as one of the most honourable paths to halal earnings. Even so, ihtikar is treated as an exception and is condemned. This is based on the well-known warning of the Prophet (peace be upon him):

"Whoever hoards (a commodity, stockpiling it and waiting for its price to rise) is a sinner." (Muslim, al-Musaqah, 129)

In the science of hadith, the narrations on this subject make clear that the person who engages in ihtikar is both held religiously accountable and is violating the rights of society. Most scholars of fiqh have regarded stockpiling of food staples that people essentially need, carried out during times of scarcity, as forbidden (haram) or at the very least disliked (makruh).

Under what conditions does ihtikar occur?

In classical fiqh, for ihtikar to take place the following elements are generally required to come together:

• Essential commodity: Especially goods such as food that are indispensable for the survival of humans and animals. For luxury and optional products the ruling is lighter.
• Scarcity / shortage: There is already hardship in the market; stockpiling deepens that hardship. Ordinary storage carried out in times of abundance, without harming anyone, is assessed differently.
• Intent to raise prices: Deliberately withdrawing a good from sale and waiting for the price to rise. Intention plays a key role in determining the ruling.
• Purchased goods: According to many scholars, ihtikar applies mostly to goods bought from the market and held in order to be resold.

Is hoarding always forbidden? Important distinctions

Here a very common misunderstanding needs to be corrected: Islam does not prohibit every kind of storage. On the contrary, it praises production and prudence. Let us clarify the difference with a few examples:

1. Storing what you produced yourself

For a farmer to keep the wheat he harvested from his own field in a granary, in preparation for winter and the coming season, is not ihtikar. Prophet Yusuf (Joseph, peace be upon him) storing grain during the seven years of abundance in Egypt to prepare for the seven years of famine is an example of prudence praised in the Qur'an (Surah Yusuf, 47-49). The aim here is not profiteering, but protecting society from starvation.

2. Reasonable stock in times of abundance

When there is abundance in the market, holding goods to sell later without leaving anyone in distress is normal commercial activity. The problem begins when scarcity and a deliberate intent to inflate prices come together.

3. Black marketeering (what is actually forbidden)

Withdrawing a basic foodstuff from the shelf during a shortage, holding it back so that "the price rises even further," and then selling it at an exorbitant price — this is exactly the behaviour Islam calls being "a sinner." The modern term black market corresponds precisely to this.

How does Islam view prices? The role of the state

In Islamic economics, the rule is that prices should be formed according to supply and demand, in a free market. In one narration, when prices rose the Companions asked the Prophet to fix prices (to set a price ceiling), but he stated that the one who truly sets prices is Allah, and that he did not wish to meet his Lord having usurped anyone's rights (Abu Dawud, Buyu', 49).

However, this freedom is not unlimited. If an artificial distortion arises in the market through injustice, fraud or ihtikar, most Islamic jurists hold that the state (the public authority) may intervene, and may even impose price-fixing (a maximum price) when necessary. In other words, the free market is protected, but it cannot be used to crush the weak. The balance is this: prices should form naturally, but no one may use hunger and necessity as a weapon.

The social harm of ihtikar

To understand why ihtikar is condemned so severely, it is enough to look at its harms:

• It strikes the weakest: A price hike on basic food affects low-income families the most. For the rich a price increase is an inconvenience; for the poor it means hunger.
• It destroys trust: People lose trust in the market, in tradespeople and in one another. Yet trust is the very heart of commerce.
• It drives away barakah: In the Islamic understanding, unjust gain is without barakah (blessing) even if it is large in quantity; halal and just earning, by contrast, is blessed even when it is small.
• It breaks down solidarity: When society ought to band together during scarcity, ihtikar turns people into enemies of one another.

What does Islam recommend? The ethics of halal trade

In prohibiting ihtikar, Islam does not leave a vacuum in its place; it establishes a positive ethics of trade. Its main principles are:

• Honesty and transparency: Not concealing a good's defect, not cheating in measure and weight (Surah al-Mutaffifin, 1-3).
• Fair profit: Taking a profit is halal; what is forbidden is exorbitant and unjust gain. The merchant who sells at a reasonable profit is praised.
• Generosity in scarcity: Lowering the price during a shortage to ease the people's burden is recounted in the hadith as a great reward.
• Awareness of barakah: With the understanding that "trade conducted early in the morning is blessed," valuing the lawfulness and barakah of earnings over their quantity.

In short, Islam offers a vision of an economy that says, "earn little but earn cleanly, and touch many lives." Ihtikar is the exact opposite of this vision: earn a great deal, but for a minority and at society's expense.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between ihtikar and normal stock?

Normal stock is storage carried out in times of abundance without harming anyone. Ihtikar, on the other hand, is withdrawing a basic good from the market during scarcity, with the intent of inflating prices. The difference lies in timing (scarcity), intention (profiteering) and the type of good (essential need).

Do I sin if I stockpile a product I produced myself?

According to most scholars, no; storing your own produce for need and prudence is not considered ihtikar. The ruling is essentially concerned with locking up the market and the intent to inflate prices.

Does ihtikar apply to luxury goods as well?

The predominant view is that the ruling on ihtikar applies most strongly to basic food and essential necessities. Since there is no essential societal need for luxury goods, the ruling is assessed more leniently for them.

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