From the Bazaar to the Browser: When Home Becomes a Mall - A Spiritual Critique of the Marketplace

The Algorithm-Driven shopping lifestyle turns home into a 24/7 arena of distraction and deceit, thus echoing the spiritual hazard warned by the Holy Prophet.

Market: The Cradle of Trade

Trade is the lifeblood of nations that cherish humanity’s wants and needs. The Market, its beloved cradle, will naturally be the favorite venue for children, men and women to gather for all important and trivial reasons.

However, markets are also hotspots of ravenous greed and deceit. Human temptations dance in daylight even as merchants swear with their life on their products, prices and profits. Hence, markets also ‘win’ the coveted position among the ‘most hated of places to Allah.”

The Market, or bazaar, is the harem of delusion (with its inherent distraction from the true purpose of life). Visitors may be infinitely deluded in their assumption of a perfect happy life while the reality is otherwise of this turbulent and trialsome life. Traders also utter the most gruesome lies to defend their merchandise. Customers are mercilessly cheated in their deals and offers.

But the reality extends beyond the streets and lanes of traditional bazaars. The Online marketplace could be as vile and evil as their physical counterpart.

Consider, for example, the soulful counsel of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him):

“Do not, if you can help, be the first to enter the market and the last to leave it, because it is the arena of Satan, and the standard of Satan is set there.”

This is surely not a financial tip for a good parking spot. The hearts of those who are ‘early to market and late to exit’ will most likely be bleeding from the indulgent love of the world. Rarely will such a soul’s gaze lift from the ledger to the sky.

Online Markets: Shop until You Drop, and Beyond

Now imagine the condition when we apply this ‘early to market and late exit’ warning to the endless corridors of the online marketplace.
Traditional markets, however early to open or late to close, had a finite operational time. But today’s digital malls don’t. They are open 24/7, inviting us to shop perpetually until our wallets run empty and even beyond. Nothing can stop the sellers from ‘preaching’ and ‘converting’ the buyer to a ‘believer’ even as he or she is cozying on their sofa at midnight.

Mayday for the Spiritual Journey

What was once constrained by time and geography is now invading the living rooms of our serene abode.

In the old days, the market was outside the home. After shopping at a bustling lane, we would return to an inner sanctuary filled with family, prayer, and rest. Unfortunately, that boundary, or luxury, is no longer possible.

While the traditional market required our physical presence; the digital market demands our attention. The former had salesmen bragging about their fake deals, the latter adopts complex algorithms to ensure we endlessly scroll to compare and desire their goods. Never has distraction received such attention in history. Heedlessness is shamelessly celebrated as an affluent lifestyle. It is an absolute mayday for our spiritual journey.

There is no exit strategy in online shopping. The Prophet’s advice to be brief, to be the ‘last to enter and first to exit,’ was based on the ability to physically leave. In the obsessive online world, this is close to impossible. The app notifications follow you into the middle of the night right into the bedroom. The abandoned shopping cart haunts your sleep.

The boundary between home and market is not crossed; it is simply non-existent. While home is for love and meditation, the market is for deals and negotiations. But online shopping blurs this difference. Family time, meant for bonding and trust-building, is often hijacked by the glowing screen of the alluring holiday price drop.

Manipulative Algorithms: Zero Regard for Dignity and Privacy

Manipulative algorithms, disguised as technological innovations, deceive the masses with inflated evaluations, fake reviews and exploiting payments often entangled with confusing interest-based payment terms. The app ecosystem shows zero regard for human data and dignity, violating both privacy and the self.

The juxtaposition is clear: The marketplace, whether made of stone or software, is merely a mirror reflecting the state of the human heart. The battle remains the same: to make the marketplace, physical or virtual, not an arena of Satan, but a testimony to Divine Justice.

Dec 17 2025