According to (Loeb 1971) the word “ethics” originates from the Greek word “ethos”, which means “character, spirit and attitude of a group of people or culture”. Based on the Oxford Dictionary, ethics can be defined as a system of moral principles (rule of conduct) by which human actions may be judged as good or bad. Ethics deals with those standards that prescribe what man out to do. It also addresses virtues, duties, and attitudes of the individual and the society. In addition, ethics is related to customs, traditions as well as beliefs and worldviews.
According to Arabic term, akhlaq (singular, khuluq) is laterally translated into English as “ethics”. Khuluq comes in the Qur‟an, two times, (al-Shu‟ara: 137, and al-Qalam: 4). Though these two terms are in some cases used as interchangeable words in Arabic language, some scholars argue that there are some essential differences between “akhlaq” and “adab” in terms of application and source. This is because “akhlaq” (ethics) indicates the “moral philosophy”, while “adab” (morality) signifies the actual practices of moral philosophy. In this case, the former address the theoretical background of human conducts, while the later is more on the actions and manners.
Definition of ethics in the Islamic perspective are ethical actions are those conducts which are characterized as good deeds. Good conducts are those conducts which are in line with the primordial human nature (fitrah). Islam holds the belief that human beings are born with good character (fitrah) that disdains from immorality and instils morality, thus good morals are equivalent to human nature.
In Islam, the essential rule in business is honesty and fair dealing, and a businessman should, as a result, be a person of high ethical principles (Kaliffa 2003). The market should be free and not subject to manipulation and where individuals engaging in trade and commerce should act fairly (Lewis 2006). Dealing in