An Ideal or a Reality? Does Islamic Work Ethics Reflect the Trading Behaviours of Muslim Market Women in Ghana?

Abstract

Knowledge of work ethics does not in most cases reflect the realities of people’s lives. The study aimed at assessing Muslim Women Traders’ understanding of Islamic Work Ethics (IWE) and how it influences their trading activities. A case study design within the qualitative research paradigm was employed for the research. Both the purposive and simple random sampling techniques were adopted to select 208 respondents for the study. Nineteen (19) of the respondents were interviewed using the one-on-one in-depth interview instrument whilst a structured questionnaire was distributed among 189 traders in the Kumasi Central Market. The study found out that whilst traders have fair understanding of Islamic ideals and trade principles, it does not necessarily influence their trade habits. The main constraints that affect women traders in their attempt to follow the Ideal Muslim practices include: Economic difficulties, family pressure and problems, greed, ignorance on the part of some Muslims, individual differences, disregard for the teachings and emulation of other people’s bad behaviour. The study, therefore, concludes that the Islam ethical teachings do not necessarily reflect the practices or lives of Islam women traders in the Kumasi Central Market.

Keywords: Islamic work ethic, Ethical trading, Trading behaviour, Religion, Egoism, Ghana