Saidmukarram Abdulqodirzoda, the head of Tajikistan's Council of Ulemas, has called on traders not to raise food prices during Ramadan, but to lower them. The official publication of the Committee on Religious Affairs cited the country's mufti as saying that artificially raising prices for greater profit is condemned in Islam.
Abdulqodirzoda emphasized that artificially inflating prices during Ramadan will only bring traders "anxiety, failure, and distress." The mufti of Tajikistan stated that there is no shortage of essential goods like oil, flour, and fruits in the country, and exploiting the blessed month of Ramadan with price hikes is a great sin with unpleasant consequences.
He urged all traders and market workers to engage in charity daily during this blessed month, not to increase prices, but to decrease them. "Because no effort goes unrewarded, and if this work is done with good intentions, it brings good rewards," said Abdulqodirzoda.
In previous years, the mufti has also asked traders not to raise food prices during Ramadan, but this call has gone unheard by traders. Tajikistan's residents complain every year about the rising cost of food during Ramadan, expressing concern that some traders use this month to increase prices, which are then hardly reduced after Ramadan.
