It is remarkable that Muslim jurists have enunciated over five thousand clauses relating to trade and commerce.

Historically, the growth and expansion of bazaars has been closely linked to urbanization. In the first century of the Islamic era, for example, with the migration of people from different regions of Arabia, numerous bazaars sprang up in the city of Madina. Interestingly, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) appointed an educated lady, Shifa, the daughter of Abd-Allah, as an officer or inspector of a market in Madina. It is likely that some women used to bring their merchandise for sale in the market and so Shifa was appointed to take care of their interests. With the rapid growth of urbanization and expansion of towns and cities in different parts of the Islamic world, the bazaar became an inseparable part of the city. Thus the famed cities of Baghdad, Heart, Bukhara, Isfahan, Samarqand, Lahore and Delhi attained global renown for their large and splendid bazaars.

Interestingly, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) appointed an educated lady, Shifa, the daughter of Abd-Allah, as an officer or inspector of a market in Madina. It is likely that some women used to bring their merchandise for sale in the market and so Shifa was appointed to take care of their interests.

A complex of structures and institutions constituted the core of the traditional Islamic city. These included the mosque, madrasa, public bath, caravanserai or travellers’ inn, and the bazaar. The bazaar was often flanked by residential quarters. The structure of social space as defined by the civilizational values of Islam had a characteristic bearing on architectural patterns in the Islamic world. The architecture of the bazaar reflects three distinct motifs. The first is aesthetic elegance which reflects and reinforces the quiet harmony of the social space. Thus the bazaars of Kashan and Isfahan, which were built in the seventeenth century, stand out for their architectural majesty and grandeur. Secondly, the architectural style reflects the interrelatedness and multifunctional character of the complex, of which the bazaar is a part. Thirdly, the bazaar exemplifies Islamic cultural identity at the micro level.

Architecturally, the bazaar constituted a distinctive part of the Islamic city, which was divided into sections or streets. The streets were covered in order to protect the shops as well as customers from the extremes of weather. Each section or line was lined by purveyors of different kinds of merchandise. Furthermore, each section had a bakery, restaurant, coffee house and caravanserai. Beyond the commercial complex lay the residential quarters, which often interpenetrated the space of the bazaar.

What is outlined in the foregoing indicates the basic and most common structure of the bazaar in the Islamic world. One should also keep in mind significant variations in the layout ad functions of the bazaar in different regions. The growth and expansion of cities in the Islamic world brought in its wake differentiation of occupation. As urban centres became larger and heterogeneous so did the bazaars. In addition to the omnibus kind of bazaars which offered a wide variety of goods, there were specialised bazaars such as the garments bazaar, the jewellery bazaar and the financial or banking bazaar (known as Qaysariya in earlier times). In some countries, such as Iran and India, there developed exclusively women’s bazaars. During the medieval period, a system of hawking was introduced in Delhi in which itinerant petty traders moved about in different parts of the city, hawking and selling a wide variety of wares. The system was introduced for the benefit of purdah-observing ladies who would not visit the local bazaars.

During the medieval period, a system of hawking was introduced in Delhi in which itinerant petty traders moved about in different parts of the city, hawking and selling a wide variety of wares. The system was introduced for the benefit of purdah-observing ladies who would not visit the local bazaars.

The bazaars served a multiplicity of functions. They served as a conduit for the sale of village produce to townsmen and city dwellers. The bazaar provided opportunities for interaction not only among different sections of the urban populace but also between peasants, pastoralists and townsmen. They served as an important mechanism for the diffusion of crafts, technology and skills. They provided avenues for upward social mobility. The bazaar also served as an effective outlet for communication. The Prophet at times used bazaars for the propagation of Islamic teachings. The bazaar also served as an important vehicle for the dissemination of Islamic values. The conduct and behaviour of Muslim traders and merchants often impressed non-Muslim traders and drew them to the fold of Islam.

There was a significant linkage between bazaars and the institution of Waqf (endowments). Shops and other commercial establishments were often given away as endowments by rulers and members of the nobility. The rent accruing from such shops was used for the maintenance of mosques, madrasas, charitable hospitals and caravanserais. In addition to economic, social and religious functions, the bazaar served literary and academic functions as well. Professional calligraphers, paper merchants, scribes and copiers and book sellers, who occupied a respectable niche in the bazaars of the medieval period, played an important role in the development of literary and academic activities.

Generally, the bazaar has been subject to processes operating in the wider Islamic society. The reverberations of religious awakening and revival were felt not only in mosques ad madrasas but also in the lanes and alleys of bazaars. Thus, describing the far-reaching consequences of the movement for Islamic revitalization initiated by the celebrated 13th century Sufi saint of Delhi, Shaykh Nizamuddin Awliya, a contemporary historian Diyauddin Barani reports that under the influence of his teachings traders and merchants in the bazaars of Delhi gave up their deceitful methods and unfair dealings and took to honest ways of doing business.

As a result of wide-ranging economic, political and social changes, bazaars in the Islamic world have undergone a significant transformation in recent years. However, they still retain some of their distinctive features and their old charm. The famed bazaars of Istanbul, Cairo and Isfahan, for example, continue to present a dazzling spectacle of sight, smells and sound.

Cairo’s famous Khan al-Khalili bazaar—known as the Turkish Bazaar during the Ottoman period—is one of the world’s oldest bazaars. It was constructed in 1382 by the Emir Al Khalili in the heart of the city. Here one can feast one’s eyes on a mind-boggling range of goods and merchandise, including gold and silver ornaments, precious stones, leather products, spices, perfumes, garments, armour, carpets, rings, ancient coins, porcelain, books and specimens of Islamic calligraphy. There is a famous camel bazaar held every Friday in the western part of Cairo.








Another fascinating bazaar in the contemporary Islamic world is the Covered Bazaar, locally known as Kapalicarsi. It is one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets—in addition to a maze of lanes and alleys—and 4000 shops which sell practically every thing. The Covered Bazaar was built in 1461 by the orders of the Turkish Emperor Mehmet the Conqueror. Between 250,000 and 400,000 people, mainly foreign tourists, visit the bazaar every day. It is renowned for its numerous jewellery, pottery, spice and carpet shops and is reminiscent of the famed bazaars of the Islamic world in earlier times.