Original Question: There are sellers who buy goods in large quantities when they are priced cheap. As the supply of the goods dwindled, they hid them away. When the demand and buying price for the goods increase, they then sell the goods for higher profits. Is this practice allowed in Islam?

This practice is called ihtikar, where a trader hoards their supply of goods, especially essential living necessities, to create scarcity and quickly inflate the prices of the abovementioned goods before selling them for higher profits.

The Prophet ﷺ once said: “No one hoards but the sinner.” A hadith narrated by Imam Muslim.