After the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, the Iraqi army brought in a large amount of goods from Kuwait, some of which were stolen, and sold them in the Iraqi markets at low prices.

The questioner : The large amounts of money with the Iraqi army in the markets of Baghdad: is it permissible to buy them or not? Stolen goods... sold at very low prices. The Iraqi buyer is forced to buy from these goods.

The Shaykh : First, in your speech, you mentioned stolen goods.

The questioner : Stolen, yes.

The Shaykh : And a second category, what did you say about it?

The questioner : He buys it at a low price.

The Shaykh : From whom did he buy it?

The questioner : From the Kuwaitis at a price... the Arab countries, because the price of the Iraqi dinar is approximately...

The Shaykh : Meaning the Iraqi government imposed a low price.

The questioner : A low price on the Kuwaiti goods.

The Shaykh : A low price, and now this goods is present in Iraq.

The questioner : It filled the markets of Iraq to the extent that the Iraqi buyer cannot buy except from these goods, such as oil and others.

The Shaykh : I am telling you here something that must be detailed, starting from a rule we mentioned earlier, which I think you were not present for: "Necessities permit the prohibited." It is countered by another governing rule: "Necessity is estimated by its degree." Now, it is recommended first to look at the need of the Iraqi afflicted by those goods who wants to buy them. It may be necessary, as you mentioned, or it may not be necessary. Is this division clear?

The questioner : Very clear, but he did not mention necessity.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : He did not mention necessity.

The Shaykh : No, I still want us to stop at this point. Is it clear?

The questioner : Clear.

The Shaykh : For example, is buying fruit necessary, for example?

The questioner : It cannot be dispensed with.

The Shaykh : It can be dispensed with, so this is the rule. If the item bought is from the necessities without which the life of the Muslim cannot be established, it is permissible, but with the following condition, and perhaps this is the answer to your second question. For example, you are a man who may have a wife, so you are one of two people; it is not necessary for you to buy a full can of oil, but rather you buy what suffices you for your livelihood. Because we know, as we are people of households with children and wives, that a person does not eat oil every day, right? So he can buy a quantity of oil that sustains his life for a period of one or two weeks. The circumstances and events may change, and a market may open, and the goods may return to Iraq as they were before. In that case, it is not permissible for you to buy from these goods, even if they are cheaper than the goods that arrived through a lawful path. So we are with the rule "Necessities permit the prohibited," with the addition of "Necessity is estimated by its degree."

The questioner : Our Shaykh, if he bought a can, for example, he bought a can from the market on the basis that the country is at war, and especially since two or three months have passed and the war is still ongoing, he says this can will suffice me for a month, considering that the war might last a month as time passes, our Shaykh?

The Shaykh : There is no war now, now the reality is different. May Allah reward you. The important thing is that he presents it according to the prevailing circumstances. It is two or twelve; the matter differs. But he must apply the rule "Necessities permit the prohibited" and "Necessity is estimated by its degree," and he must fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in applying this rule and that one, and not follow his own desires. Yes.

The questioner : Our Shaykh, it is known that countries differ in goods from one country to another. The stolen money or the goods imported from there, the same goods may be present in the buyer's country at a normal price, such as oil or olives or others. Meaning, it may be from Jordan or from another country. Now, money has been mixed: some bought through lawful trade, and some through other lawful trade, and another, for example, bought at a low price or stolen. Is it permissible to buy the quantity he wants...

The Shaykh : If it prevails in his opinion, and this is not his question, this is your question. The answer is: if it prevails in his opinion that this goods is of the type that was bought through a lawful method, he buys from it as much as he wishes. And if it prevails in his opinion that it is of the type about which the question was asked, you have already known the answer to it.