Monopolizing Gold Buying and Marketing is a Crime Against the Nation
And Does Not Enhance the Alleged Exchange Rate Stability
In a move aimed at addressing the accelerating economic deterioration, (as it claims) the Economic Emergency Committee, chaired by the Transitional Prime Minister Dr. Kamel Idris, announced a package of ten new decisions aimed at controlling financial performance and enhancing the exchange rate stability of the Sudanese pound, which continues to decline since the outbreak of the war in April 2023, where the dollar exchange rate in the parallel market reached about 3,400 pounds, an increase of more than 700% compared to the period before the conflict. Among the decisions of the Emergency Committee were (restricting gold buying and marketing operations to one government entity, and monitoring exports to reduce gold smuggling) (Radio Dabanga, 2025/08/22).
The Prime Minister considered that the partners alone have the right to buy and market gold, where he said, "I was pleased today to inaugurate the Sudanese Unified Gold Export Window, which was honored by the presence of the member of the Sovereignty Council, Engineer Ibrahim Jaber, along with a number of ministers and senior state officials, such as the Ministry of Minerals," and said, "We have made efforts with our partners to complete this important stage that will contribute to facilitating and simplifying gold export procedures to contribute to the advancement of the national economy and supplying the public treasury with significant currencies." The Unified Gold Export Window is a central platform aimed at facilitating the process of exporting gold from the country and brings together all relevant parties from (Ministry of Minerals, Ministry of Trade, Central Bank of Sudan, Sudanese Mineral Resources Company, Standards and Metrology Authority, Customs Police, Economic Security Authority, Military Intelligence Authority, Chamber of Commerce).
Isn't this a monopoly on gold?! And to further restrict people, the committee considered that anyone who does not have documentary evidence for the gold in their possession will have it confiscated!
The Prime Minister believes that "the window will reduce smuggling operations," so he said: "With this policy, the Ministry of Minerals has waived many of the fees for export procedures at the Sudanese Company. With these steps, we would like to point out that export revenues during the past months of this year have reached one billion and 500 million dollars. We are striving to stop gold smuggling through policies and procedures."
On the other hand, the Chamber of Exporters complained about these measures, where the head of the Gold Exporters Division, Abdel Moneim Al-Siddiq, in a statement to Al Jazeera Net on 2025/08/21, described the government's decision to monopolize gold exports as a "catastrophic decision that will destroy what remains of the dilapidated Sudanese economy and will repeat the same experience of the Salvation Government and its recent policies, the results of which were known to all." He continued, "I do not know why the insistence on trying the tried and tested, and this will not lead to reforming our dilapidated economy, which depends on gold exports in providing most of the country's needs." He added that monopolizing gold exports to a specific group opens the door wide for corruption, saying: "Through our previous experiences with the same policies, the country has only suffered from wasting its resources through smuggling, as well as more corruption and undermining."
It is known according to Sharia rulings that gold and other minerals are not state property, they are either individual property or public property. The Sharia ruling on dealing with minerals is as follows:
Minerals are of two types: a limited amount in a quantity that is not considered a large quantity for the individual, and an unlimited amount. As for the limited amount, it is individual property, and it is owned individually, and it is treated as treasure, and it is subject to a fifth. It was narrated from Amr bin Shuaib from his father from his grandfather that the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about found property, so he said: "What is found on a frequented path or in an inhabited village should be announced for a year, and if its owner comes, give it to him, and if he does not come, it is yours, and what is found in ruins, then it and the treasure are subject to a fifth." Narrated by Abu Dawood.
As for the unlimited amount, which cannot be depleted, it is public property, and it is not permissible to own it individually, as Al-Tirmidhi narrated from Abyad bin Hamal: "That he came to the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, and asked him to grant him salt, so he granted it to him, and when he turned away, a man from the assembly said: Do you know what you have granted him? You have only granted him inexhaustible water. He said: So he took it back from him." Inexhaustible water is that which does not run out. Salt is likened to inexhaustible water because it does not run out. This hadith indicates that the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, granted Abyad bin Hamal the salt of the mountain, which indicates that it is permissible to grant a salt mine. When he knew that it was from the permanent mineral that does not run out, he went back on his grant and returned it, and prevented the individual from owning it, because it is the property of the group. The intention here is not salt, but rather the mineral, because when he knew that it does not run out, he prevented it, even though he knew that it was salt, and he granted it from the beginning, so the prohibition is because it is a mineral that does not run out. Abu Ubaid said: "As for his granting, may God bless him and grant him peace, Abyad bin Hamal al-Maribi the salt that is in Marib, then taking it back from him, he only granted it to him, and he considered it barren land that Abyad revives and develops, and when it became clear to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that it is inexhaustible water - which is that which has a source that does not run out, such as the water of springs and wells - he took it back from him because the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, regarding pasture, fire, and water, is that all people are partners in it, so he disliked to make it for a man who possesses it to the exclusion of the people." Since salt is from minerals, then the Messenger's retraction of his grant to Abyad is considered a reason for the individual's lack of ownership, which is that it is a mineral that does not run out, and not that it is salt that does not run out. It is clear from the narration of Amr bin Qais that the salt here is a mineral, as he said "salt mine" and it is clear from examining the words of the jurists that they made salt from the minerals, so the hadith is related to minerals, not to salt specifically.
This ruling, which is that the mineral that does not run out is public property, includes all minerals, whether apparent minerals that can be reached without expense, which people frequent and benefit from, such as salt, kohl, ruby, and the like, or it is from the inner minerals, which cannot be reached except by work and expense, such as gold, silver, iron, copper, lead, and the like. Whether it is solid like crystal or liquid like oil, they are all minerals that fall under the hadith. Therefore, it is not permissible to convert public property into individual property.
But the capitalist system, by virtue of pragmatism and the utilitarian view of life, plunders public property and monopolizes its transactions unjustly and aggressively, so money accumulates with a few individuals, while people are in abject poverty and cannot satisfy their basic needs.
The Prime Minister has accumulated money in the hands of his partners in his government agencies, not as God wanted the money to circulate among the people. It is not possible to stop this capitalist greed except with the Second Rightly Guided Caliphate, which applies the rulings of Sharia in money and other things, thus preserving the nation's capabilities by minting coins based on the gold and silver standard. Not paper that is not worth the value of the ink written on it. Therefore, the problem of money is addressed by decoupling from the dollar and linking the currency to gold and silver. Hizb ut-Tahrir has adopted in the introduction to the constitution the following:
(Article 167: The state's money is gold and silver, whether minted or not, and it is not permissible to have any other currency. The state may issue something else instead of gold and silver, provided that it has in the state treasury an amount of gold and silver equal to it. The state may issue copper, bronze, paper, or other things and mint it in its name as its currency if it has a counterpart equal to it in gold and silver).
To return to the gold standard, the reasons that led to abandoning it must be removed, and the factors that led to its deterioration must be removed, that is, the following must be done:
1- Stop printing paper money
2- Return gold coins to circulation
3- Remove customs barriers from gold, and remove all restrictions on its import and export.
4- Remove restrictions on owning gold, possessing it, selling it, buying it, and dealing with it in contracts.
5- Remove restrictions on owning the major currencies in the world, and make competition between them free, so that they take a fixed price in relation to each other, and in relation to gold, without the intervention of countries by reducing or floating their currencies.
When gold is given freedom, it will have an open market in a short period of time, and therefore all international currencies will take a fixed exchange rate in relation to gold, and international dealings with gold will take their way into existence, where the value of contracts for goods whose value is estimated in gold will be paid.
If these steps are taken by one strong country, its success will encourage other countries to follow it in that, which will lead to progress towards restoring the gold standard to the world again.
And no state is more worthy than the Caliphate State to do that, because returning to the gold and silver standard is a Sharia ruling for it, and because the Caliphate State is responsible for the world with the responsibility of guidance and care.
Written by the Central Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir
Ibrahim Msharaf
Member of the Media Office of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the Wilayah of Sudan