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Is it permissible for a new vendor to occupy the place of another vendor in the weekly market if the latter is late, and does this custom have any basis in Islamic law?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to buy and sell in spacious public places such as streets and squares, provided that it does not inconvenience passersby. Scholars have differed on whether the place becomes the right of the one who arrives there first. Ahmad held that the one who precedes to a place in the market has a right to it until night, while Malik held that whoever is known for a certain place has a stronger right to it. Disputes arising in this regard are referred to the competent authority, which will decide on them as it deems appropriate.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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