The Authority of the Ruler to Regulate the Market According to the Maliki School of Jurisprudence

Abstract

This study aims to elucidate the perspective of Islamic jurisprudence, as articulated by the Maliki school of thought, on the relationship between the ruling authority—the state—and the actions of merchants with regard to the trade of goods and the exclusive control exercised by some merchants over certain goods. The study therefore examined specific provisions set out in the school’s texts concerning a merchant’s monopoly on goods, whether this was achieved by agreement with the other merchants, by asking some of them to refrain from bidding on them, or by purchasing them before they entered the country. This leads to a discussion of what Islamic law permits the ruler – the state – to do in order to protect the rights of other merchants and consumers.