Islamic Economic Values of Traders in Traditional Markets in Riau, Indonesia

Abstract

This article aims to study the ethics and values of Islamic economics in traders who still survive selling in traditional markets. The exploration of Islamic economic values and ethics as the theme of the study is motivated by the assumption that the trade order has shifted to a modern direction and partly results in the loss of ethics and values in several trading transaction systems. This research is a field study at several traditional markets in Tembilahan, Indragiri Hilir, Riau, an area called "Negeri Seribu Parit". The analysis uses a descriptive-qualitative approach from observation data, documentation, and interviews. The results showed that the traders in the Tembilahan traditional market had diverse ethnic backgrounds; where there was a majority of Malays from the Riau area, some were Minangkabau, then there were the Bugis, Makasar, Banjar Borneo, and what was unique was that there were very few Javanese. Even so, so far, the Javanese are very much found in several regions of Indonesia. Many traders in the Tembilahan traditional market still practice Islamic economic values and ethics. First, most of these diverse ethnic groups have an Islamic background, so understanding and teachings are still inherent in every behavior. Second, traditional markets that still survive are classified into different segments, such as the fish market, dawn market, squat market, and others, so that the value of competition in the modern market often "allows all means" to get as much profit as possible can still be controlled by the association of traders, and the local government.