International Journal of Religion 2024 Volume: 5| Number 8 | pp. 769 – 778 ISSN: 2633-352X (Print) | ISSN: 2633-3538 (Online) ijor.co.uk DOI: https://doi.org/10.61707/y001sc08 Islamic Economic Values of Traders in Traditional Markets in Riau, Indonesia Mawardi 1 , Zulfahmi Bustami 2 , Ahmad Dahlan 3 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. Keywords: Traders, Traditional Markets, Tembilahan, Riau, Indonesia INTRODUCTION Traditional markets still use elementary management patterns; there is still haggling over prices, the goods sold need to be neatly arranged, and there needs to be more attention to facilities, comfort, and security (Kiik, 2006 in Novita et al., 2017). Until 2015, of the 13 (thirteen) traditional markets in Indragiri Hilir Regency, six markets were imitated, namely four markets in Tembilahan (Teak Wood Market, Mayang Kelapa Market, Morning Market, Jongkok Market, Kelapa Gading Market). , as well as two outside Tembilahan, Kuala Enok Market and Guntung Multi-storey Market (Syahputra, 2016). One of the oldest traditional markets in Tembilahan is "Selodang Kelapa Floating Market," which experienced building damage and resulted in a fire in 2019. Then, the market was revitalized into a traditional market with a neat layout (Sandi et al., 2020). Several traditional markets still survive in Tembilahan City: Subuh Market, Jongkok Market, Temporary People's Market, and Old Fish Market. Currently, these markets have become an icon of the city of Tembilahan as a tourist market that continues to exist to face the modern lifestyle of the Tembilahan community and compete with the world centers of Gemilang Plaza, Indragiri Mart, Indomaret, Alfamart, and others that are currently developing in the city of Tembilahan. This article discusses the ethics and values instilled in traditional market traders in Tembilahan Indragiri Hilir when carrying out trading activities and systems. It is essential because several previous studies regarding the Tembilahan traditional market focused more on market development (Wandira, 2021; Sandi, 2020; Afdhala, 2016), management (Syahputra, 2016), and descriptions of traders (Susrianto, 2016). There are no articles discussing traditional market traders in Tembilahan regarding the themes of ethics and values of the Islamic economic system, which theoretically need to be more widely understood by traders. However, in practice, if 1 State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Pekanbaru Riau Indonesia, E-mail: mawardi@uin-suska.ac.id 2 State Islamic University of Sultan Syarif Kasim Pekanbaru Riau Indonesia, bnzulfahmi@gmail.com 3 State Islamic University of Prof. KH. Saifuddin Zuhri Purwokerto Indonesia, ahmaddahlan@uinsaizu.ac.id