Stocking Up or Hoarding During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Answered by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Question

I have been told by some to stock up on water and non-perishable food and emergency items during the pandemic, in case of another lockdown or a lengthy power shortage, etc.

Is this permissible? Are we allowed to buy more than what we need in case of an emergency?

Answer

I hope you’re doing well, insha’Allah.

Stocking up—with trust in Allah Most High, and without excessiveness—isn’t from the blameworthy hoarding. As such, there is nothing wrong with it.

The Messenger of Allah (peace & blessings be upon him) at times kept up to a year’s supply of essentials for his family. [Qastallani, al-Mawahib al-Ladunniyya]

And Allah is the giver of success and facilitation.
[Shaykh] Faraz Rabbani

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani spent ten years studying with some of the leading scholars of recent times, first in Damascus, and then in Amman, Jordan. His teachers include the foremost theologian of recent times in Damascus, the late Shaykh Adib al-Kallas (may Allah have mercy on him), as well as his student Shaykh Hassan al-Hindi, one of the leading Hanafi fuqaha of the present age. He returned to Canada in 2007, where he founded SeekersGuidance in order to meet the urgent need to spread Islamic knowledge–both online and on the ground–in a reliable, relevant, inspiring, and accessible manner. He is the author of: Absolute Essentials of Islam: Faith, Prayer, and the Path of Salvation According to the Hanafi School (White Thread Press, 2004.) Since 2011, Shaykh Faraz has been named one of the 500 most influential Muslims by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Center.