The Day of Surplus: On the market, in paradise

Abstract

The lure of markets (sūq) has a robust historical depth in the cultural and intellectual history of the Islamic world. This chapter draws attention to a set of supposedly early Islamic reports (Hadith) concerning the promised existence of a ‘market in paradise.’ According to this narrative, which fueled different genres of Islamic writing with eschatology at the forefront, all sorts of gratifications will be provided to Muslim believers in that setting. This ‘market in paradise’ is held in the Hereafter, presumably, on Fridays on the so-called ‘Day of Surplus.’ In contrast to more narrow pious versions, the reports through the famous Companions of the Prophet Mohammad (Anas b. Mālik, Abū Hurayra, and ʻAlī b. Abī Ṭālib) convey immersive sense-scapes related to the now thoroughly licit temptations of the market, including gendered patterns of access, and imbued with sexual implications.