Muslim Consumers’ Credit Card Debt Management

Abstract

Due to the widespread usage of credit cards, excessive debt is almost inevitable, particularly among Muslim consumers. Therefore, this study explores the understanding of Muslim consumers towards credit card debt management from the Islamic perspective. Semi-structured interviews with 16 participants were used in this study to gather information for the exploratory analysis. Four themes were identified among Muslim users as the primary reasons for understanding the Maqasid Shariah (MS) in credit card (CC) debt management: convenience, emergency, benefit and social status. Furthermore, this study developed a prominent higher-order theme: the priority in credit card debt management. The study incorporates an understanding of respectability in credit card management that is consistent with Islamic teaching.