Achieving Allah’s ‘good pleasure’ (al-Fajr89:28) and ‘blessedness’ (al-R’ad 13:29), are interpreted as ‘well-being.’ It leads to a ‘goodly return’ and entry to ‘His Heaven,’ which are synonymous and the seeker’s ultimate success (falah).The index was originally published by Dr Daud Batchelor in 2013 for IWI 1.0-2013 in the journal, Islam and Civilisational Renewal (ICR), as “A New Islamic Rating Index of Well-Being for Muslim Countries.” This article received strong global interest with over 12,000 reads on ResearchGate website. IWI 1.0-2013 represents a base-level for measuring country improvements or declines, and reflects average conditions of Muslim citizens from those countries at that time.
The Islamic Well-Being Index for Muslim Majority Countries (IWI-MMC) aims to assess the well-being of countries in a scientific manner. The Index is based on principles derived from the Qur’an and Sunnah to comprise the essential elements of the Maqasid al-Shar‘iah (Higher objectives of Islamic Law), as developed by Imams Abu Hamid Ghazali (d.1111) and Shatibi (1320-1388), namely the protection of Self (nafs), Religion (deen), Intellect (aql), Progeny (nasl)/lineage (nasb) and Wealth (maal). Imam Ghazali had noted that “The objective of the Shari’ah is to produce the well-being of all mankind.”The concept of ‘’Islamic Well-Being’ is reflected in Qur’anic passages.