THE MESSENGER ﷺ SAID: ‘The most beloved of places to Allah are the masajid, and the most hated of places to Allah are the markets.’ (Muslim)
Why would the marketplaces be the worst of places?
It is not too difficult to work out. Buying and selling is a necessary part of life but in the markets, we usually find the worst behaviours- unnecessary talk, swearing, deceit, lying, exploitation, greed, stinginess, showing off, time-wasting with window shopping, hanging out and free mixing etc.
These are places where the love for this temporary life becomes stronger and causes us to forget Allah and our true purpose of existence. Whilst this can certainly apply to the bazaars that come to mind at the time of the Prophet ﷺ, it can just as easily apply, if not more so, to the shiny, sleek malls of today- the temples to consumerism and materialism.
That is perhaps why the Prophet ﷺ advised the following dhikr/dua on entering the marketplace to keep us connected to Allah ﷻ and not be overtaken by the material.
لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ يُحْيِي وَيُمِيتُ وَهُوَ حَيٌّ لَا يَمُوتُ بِيَدِهِ الْخَيْرُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
‘There is no God but Allah, alone without any partners. To Him belong the dominion and all praise, He causes life and death. He lives and does not die, all good is in His hand, and He is powerful over all things.’ (Tirmidhi)
But there is another aspect that the hadith contrasting the best and worst places suggests.
The dangers of the marketplace should have remained there, and the purity of the masajid should have prevailed. Today, we see the opposite. Capitalism has spread the corruption of the marketplace into every part of life, while the deen is limited to the masajid and a few personal aspects.
We live under a system that makes a commodity out of everything. It exploits, cheats, deceives, and impoverishes the majority for the benefit of the few. It openly talks about ‘opening new markets’ and enforces ‘free market’ policies through the barrel of a gun if necessary.
Surely these are reasons why the ‘marketplace’ and its ideas are so abhorrent to Allah and are why there is so much corruption in the world.
Finally, whilst this corruption is what is being sold to us, we should make sure we are not buying! We should be ‘selling’ what is greater- Islam.
وَٱبْتَغِ فِيمَآ ءَاتَىٰكَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلدَّارَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَآ أَحْسَنَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ ٱلْفَسَادَ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ ٱلْمُفْسِدِينَ
But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters.’ (al Qasas 77)
Living For Islam 