Syariah standard of living index

Ever since independence in 1957, Malaysia has successfully transformed itself from poor into middle-class nation by using income per household as standard of living indicator. Despite this achievement, many problems exist, new forms of poverty have occurred and income inequalities continue to rise. Income alone may not capture the multiple concepts of standard of living. This is due to its complexity, as standard of living constitutes multifaceted needs. Despite monetary is important indicator, other non-monetary requirements should not be ignored. To date, many dimensions have been proposed as standard of living indicators, however they merely on extrinsic values. Little or none is emphasized on intrinsic value. As noted, Maqasid al-Syariah outlines one’s standard of living that constitutes both extrinsic and intrinsic values namely religion, off springs, knowledge, physical life and wealth. To bridge these gaps, the main objective of this article is to propose a Syariah Standard of Living Index. The development of this index lies on the fact that a new index is needed to enhance the explanatory view of standard of living. This index is expected to provide a new theoretical contribution to the policy makers, researches, academicians and the public at large in understanding standard of living in a holistic perspective. Hence, transforming standard of living is the aspiration of the country as stated in the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), to improve people’s well-being towards zero poverty nation.