Analyzing the Functional and Physical Systems of the Islamic Historic Bazaars based on the Religious Doctrines and Rules

Since the emergence of the Islamic religion, Bazaar has been one of the main formative aspects of the Islamic city layout and a center of its social life; however, the current position of some of these Bazaars in facing the new requirements of different societies, and consequently, the urban development systems, is not fully determined, leading to their inefficiency and deterioration. Nonetheless, the trading rules in Islam have had meaningful relationships with the economic, sociocultural, service sector, and managerial mechanisms, as well as with the urban characteristics and their relevant spaces in the Islamic Bazaars. While the pivotal role of Bazaars in the Near East has been the focus of many studies, the notion of Bazaars with respect to the Islamic worldview and its impact on the urban planning and architecture of Islamic societies has been less investigated. Therefore, the present study has aimed to analyze this notion, using quantitative studies obtained from the archival and field data, as well as their analysis based on a nonexperimental method with a descriptive-analytical strategy. According to former studies, although Islamic civilization flourished after the pre-Islamic empires and dynasties, the specific requirements of Islamic societies were later embodied and found their special nature over time. This could be identified in the functional and physical systems of the Islamic cities and their relevant elements like Bazaars, where various principles have been considered. For instance, the necessity of learning Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), in line with the knowledge and expertise needed for payment and transaction method regulations, promoting production, improving the quality of products, as well as heightened spirituality and ethical conduct to establish healthy relationships among merchants, and finally, activity organization and security were all some of the rules and principles that have led to semantic authenticity and sustainability of these structures during different eras. Corresponding to these rules and principles, special physical systems have emerged and evolved in the structure of the Bazaars. Hence, the findings in the present study could prevent incorrect interventions for the alleged “physical preservation,” regardless of the initial architectural purpose and role of each functional and physical component in the Islamic historic Bazaars. Furthermore, these findings facilitate building a suitable context to repair and re-establish the existing spaces and activities in these Bazaars, as well as transferring authentic concepts and their numerous hidden values to the current and future generations.