ABSTRACT
Since the eighties, management scholars have initiated research to understand the cultural influence in organizations. The scholars attributed values to organizational culture, which uniquely rationalizes behavior towards performance. Nevertheless, not much research relate culture from a religious perspective, particularly the religion of Islam. Yet, Islamic values are found embedded in hisbah manuals, which have led the way guilds perform their tasks, albeit the arguments in the association between guilds and the tenets of Islam since the guilds had existed not only in Muslim ruling societies historically. The head of the guild (shaykh) were known as industrial experts advising the hisbah institution during the golden medieval time. Thus, this article addresses the position of guilds either as industrial-based professionals or influenced by Islamic values. Employing a content analysis approach on the hisbah manuals, the findings concur on the significant influence of Islam in the performance of the guilds, as they were reported to assist and advise hisbah institutions, guided by the manuals which are largely and relevantly tied to the teachings of Islam, besides the influence of futuwwah and Akhism.