This excerpt is taken from Sheikh Hafiz Mubashir Hussain Lahori's book Signs of the Day of Judgment in the Light of Authentic Ahadith.
Sign of the Day of Judgment: Markets will be very close to each other
عن أبى هريرة رضى الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال : لا تقوم الساعة حتى تظهر الفتن ، ويكثر الكذب ، ويتقارب الأسواق
"It is narrated from Hazrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: The Day of Judgment will not be established until trials become apparent, lies are told abundantly, and markets become very close to each other."
Reference: Ahmad (687/2) Majma' al-Zawa'id (327/7)
Benefits:
➊ The proximity of markets is a sign of the Day of Judgment.
➋ Different meanings can be derived from the closeness of markets, for example:
◈ In reality, the market will be near every house, as in the present era, almost every street and neighborhood has a market from where all kinds of goods can be easily purchased.
◈ One market will be close to another market; an example of this is also visible. When you leave one market and enter another, you see more essential goods spread out there.
◈ Markets will be close in terms of human capability, meaning that just as in the current developed era, one can easily find out the rates of deals in markets and bazaars all over the world through computers (internet) while sitting at home. Additionally, through the internet system, buying and selling can be done in any corner or region of the world, which seemed impossible a short while ago.
