on the islamicity index

There's an interesting study in the Global Economy Journal by two scholars from George Washington University. It's called "How islamic are islamic countries?"


There's a whole lot of indicators taken into account, from economic opportunities to political rights to international relations. Basically, which countries are the best in terms of applying islamic values, regardless of whether they're actually muslim.


Here's the list (for the actual study, click http://www.bepress.com/gej/vol10/iss2/2/):

OVERALL ISLAMICITY INDEX RANK

Countries Overall Islamicity Index Rank

{208} (OIC countries are highlighted)

New Zealand 1

Luxembourg 2

Ireland 3

Iceland 4

Finland 5

Denmark 6

Canada 7

U.K. 8

Australia 9

Netherlands 9

Austria 11

Norway 12

Switzerland 13

Belgium 14

Sweden 15

Portugal 16

Germany 17

Bahamas 18

France 18

Czech Rep 20

Estonia 21

Costa Rica 22

Spain 23

Barbados 24

U. S. 25

Slovenia 26

Hong Kong, China 27

Latvia 28

Japan 29

Malta 30

Hungary 31

Slovak Republic 31

Italy 33

Chile 34

Lithuania 35

Cyprus 36

Singapore 37

Malaysia 38

Panama 39

Trinidad and Tobago 40

Poland 41

Mauritius 42

Croatia 43

St. Vincent and the

Gren 44

Namibia 45

Greece 46

Jamaica 47

Kuwait 48

Uruguay 48

South Africa 50

Botswana 51

St. Lucia 52

Ghana 53

Argentina 54

Brazil 55

Mexico 55

Bulgaria 57

El Salvador 58

Philippines 59

Dominica 60

Israel 61

Monaco 62

Lesotho 63

Bahrain 64

Brunei 65

Romania 66

United Arab Emirates 66

Belize 68

Andorra 69

Cayman Islands 70

Seychelles 71

Fiji 72

Uganda   73

Tanzania   74

Antigua and Barbuda   75

Gabon 75

Jordan 77

Thailand 78

Grenada 79

San Marino 79

China 81

Nicaragua 81

Cape Verde 83

Macao, China 83

Tunisia 83

Colombia 86

Dominican Republic 87

Peru 88

India 89

Aruba 90

Russian Federation 91

Honduras 92

Greenland 93

Guyana 94

Netherlands Antilles 95

Mozambique 96

Mongolia 97

Macedonia, FYR 98

Oman 99

Suriname 100

Bosnia and

Herzegovina 101

Ukraine 102

Turkey 103

Maldives 104

Liechtenstein 105

Korea, Rep. 106

Kazakhstan 107

Timor‐Leste 107

Senegal 109

Albania 110

Moldova 110

Qatar 112

Puerto Rico 113

Armenia 114

Kiribati 115

Sri Lanka 116

Georgia 117

St. Kitts and Nevis 117

Morocco 119

Northern Mariana

Islands 119

Papua New Guinea 119

Zambia 119

Bolivia 123

Gambia, The 124

Azerbaijan 125

Ecuador 125

Guatemala 127

Belarus 128

Malawi 129

Mali 130

Saudi Arabia 131

Burkina Faso 132

Vanuatu 133

Vietnam 134

Rwanda 135

Paraguay 136

Kyrgyz Republic 137

Korea, Dem. Rep. 138

Virgin Islands (U.S.) 139

Indonesia 140

Venezuela, RB 141

Madagascar 142

Palau 143

Kenya 144

Guinea 145

Samoa 146

Benin 147

Pakistan 147

Cuba 149

New Caledonia 150

Nepal 151

Bangladesh 152

Egypt, Arab Rep. 153

Cambodia 154

Tonga 155

Burundi 156

Swaziland 156

Lebanon 158

Zimbabwe 159

Algeria 160

Micronesia, Fed. Sts. 161

Cameroon 162

Iran, Islamic Rep. 163

Myanmar 164

Central African

Republic 165

Bermuda 166

Bhutan 167

Sierra Leone 168

Afghanistan 169

Guam 170

Congo, Dem. Rep. 171

Togo 172

Turkmenistan 173

Nigeria 174

Uzbekistan 174

Haiti 176

Tajikistan 176

American Samoa 178

Cote d'Ivoire 179

Ethiopia 180

French Polynesia 181

Congo, Rep. 182

Equatorial Guinea 183

Lao PDR 183

Serbia and

Montenegro 185

Syrian Arab Republic 186

Marshall Islands 187

Faeroe Islands 188

Niger 189

Guinea‐Bissau 190

Solomon Islands 190

Sao Tome and Principe 192

Djibouti 193

Liberia 194

Mauritania 195

Libya 196

Chad 197

Yemen, Rep. 198

Angola 199

Comoros 200

Iraq 201

Channel Islands 202

Sudan 202

Eritrea 204

Isle of Man 205

Somalia 206

West Bank and Gaza 207

Mayotte 208

Of course, this has to be taken with a pinch of salt. But its a good indicator of the pitiful state of 'islamic countries'

And a typical malaysian would say "wow, we're highest at 38!" 

-.-

if Malaysia Boleh, then we should be top-ranked in terms of islamic values. 

on real superheroes

Yesterday's role models:

Today's role models:

 

Who should we take as role models?

Allah has given us at least 25 men in the Qur'an, men who are exemplary in their belief and conduct. These are his prophets and messengers, and they are the ones who we should take because:

1) they believed strongly and deeply in Allah, and

2) they spread that belief no matter what came in their way, and their conduct in this mission is an example to this very day.

They are the real superheroes.

Allah sent us prophets and messengers who found themselves in all sorts of situations.

Some people say, "I can't do D&T, i'm too busy with my business and my wealth."

Well you can't be wealthier than prophet Sulaiman a.s. He was given the greatest kingdom, that no one after him was given. But he used that power to make other kingdoms submit to Allah. And when the queen of Saba' gave him a gift, he said

فَلَمَّا جَاءَ سُلَيْمَانَ قَالَ أَتُمِدُّونَنِ بِمَالٍ فَمَا آتَانِيَ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا آتَاكُمْ بَلْ أَنْتُمْ بِهَدِيَّتِكُمْ تَفْرَحُونَ

So when (the messengers with the present) came to Sulaimân, he said: "Will you help me in wealth? What Allâh has given me is better than that which He has given you! Nay, you rejoice in your gift!" (27:36)

In modern language, that's like saying "are you trying to bribe me? nay! What Allah gave is better!" (i love the word 'nay', sounds so classical-ish). 

Some people say, "I can't do D&T, i can't even pray, i'm too sick *coughcough*"

You can't be sicker than prophet Ayub. He had a long life, a lot of wealth and a lot of children. Then Allah tested him, and took away his health, his wealth and his children died. But he never comlplained. After 7 years of severe disease, his wife complained. But he said

"Tell me how long did I enjoy good health and riches?"

"Eighty years."

"How long am I suffering like this?"

"Seven years."

"In that case I am ashamed to call on my Lord to remove the hardship, for I have not suffered longer than the years of good health and plenty."

And even when his wife left, he did not complain. He prayed to Allah for mercy.

وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنْتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

And (remember) Ayûb, when he cried to his Lord: "Verily, distress has seized me, and You are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy." (21:83)

If it was us today, we would say "urghh! curse this disease!" but prophet Ayub praised Allah, "O most Merciful of the merciful".

There are countless other examples for all our excuses not to do D&T.

Family problems? Troubled childhood? Prophet Yusuf's brothers threw him down a well, but he forgave them when he grew up and became a ruler.

Too many past sins? Prophet Adam got himself out of heaven, but he sincerely asked Allah for forgiveness.

No one listening to our D&T? Prophet Nuh called to his people for 950 years, and according to narrations less than a 100 people accepted Islam. 

So you see, there are no reasons not to do D&T. Our prophets and messengers have been in all types of trials and tribulations, but they persevered. And in the books of seerah, we have the complete life of prophet Muhammad SAW, down to every last detail, so we know what to do in every part of our life.

So what are we waiting for?

Just DU-IT. (Doa' Usaha Ikhtiar Tawakkal). 

on being good to one another

i learnt a very profound hadith of Rasulullah SAW.

“Do not be envious of one another; do not artificially inflate prices against one another; do not hate one another; do not shun one another; and do not undercut one another in business transactions; 

and be as fellow-brothers and servants of Allah.

A Muslim is the brother of a Muslim. He neither oppresses him nor humiliates him nor looks down upon him. Piety is here – and he pointed to his chest three times. It is evil enough for a Muslim to hold his brother Muslim in contempt. All things of a Muslim are inviolable for another Muslim: his blood, his property and his honour.”

And in the evening,

on the old man who wouldn't give up

There are no coincidences in life. Yesterday we were talking about falling down and getting up, and in today's khutbah there was the story of the man who refused to fall, who refused to let anything get in the way between him and Allah. Subhanallah.

*dialogues re-created for added effect*

The story goes like this. The khatib went to hajj recently, and in his hajj group there was an old man. He was very old, frail and ailing, suffering from lots of diseases. He must be 80 years old or more.

But there was something special about this old man. He wasn't born muslim. Even those of us who were born muslim take it for granted that we're muslim.

4 years ago, this old man happened to hear the azan, and something struck his heart. After that its all history. He became muslim, and at a ripe old age. Who says its too late for you to change. So this old man made a dream to save the little money he had from his meagre pension, so that he could go to hajj.

After he had saved enough (and it happened this year, so he could meet the khatib, who could tell this story to us, and i could tell the story to you. Allah is the best of planners), he went to hajj. This man had a wheelchair, and he brought it along. But disaster struck! When the plane landed in Jeddah, the wheelchair had not arrived.   

"It's OK uncle, we'll try and search for your wheelchair."

Did the old man say "sure, i don't feel so good either. Biasalah, dah tua (I'm an old man, you see)." ?

No, he did not. Instead, he said something like "If Allah wants me to go without my wheelchair, then i am pleased with what he has determined."

And the old man continued his journey, using a walking stick to move around. 

And before the day of 'Arafah, the old man's health deteriorated. His leg was painful, his back was painful, he had fever, and all sorts of afflictions. 'Arafah is the most important rite of the hajj. If you did not go to 'Arafah on the day of 'Arafah, your hajj was null and void. But the old man was very weak indeed. Unable to move, he just laid down in the hotel. 

And the whole of Makkah was starting to make their way to 'Arafah. He was alone. He wanted to go really badly.

Then the night before 'Arafah, he had a dream. He dreamt that he was on a motorcycle, heading towards 'Arafah. When he woke up, a miracle happened. He no longer felt any pain. No leg pain. No back pain. Nothing.

And coincidentally, another man from his hajj group came back to Makkah to check up on the old man. And guess what?

He brought a motorcycle along to carry the old man to 'Arafah. Subhanallah.

Like we said before, there'll be whispers all the time, asking us to go astray, to follow the easy way out. The old man had everything against him. He was in poor health, he was alone, he had no relatives.

But he made a firm intention to please Allah, and Allah helped him. May Allah grant him paradise. Amin.

on falling down and getting up

One thing that amazes me about the Qur'an is this: no matter how many times you repeat the same verse over and over again, you're bound to learn something new.

Maybe the first time you listened to a commentary on the verse, you were like "yeah, uhuh, okay..now if you don't mind i'd like to call my mum" and you don't actually learn anything.

Then the next time something happens and you're all alone and there's no one to turn to but Allah. Now you listen more, and probably think "wow..these verses are really comforting".

Then the next time you maybe feeling down because you preach day and night, write blogs, post nice statuses on facebook, like every single good comment, and still no one listens to what you say. Now the verses have even more impact. "Allah is with me, as long as im with Him."

So recently i listened to a commentary on surah an-Naas, and learnt something. Or you might say i re-learnt it, because as humans we forget.

Its a simple surah, and even preschool kids memorise this surah.

As i was saying. Some of you will know how it feels when we get that spark, that motivation. That feeling of closeness to Allah, that you are willing to do anything for Him, that you want to improve yourself, that you hate being in sin.

And as the ocean tide rises and falls, so does our iman. Maybe we were too busy with our worldly affairs and forgot to remember Allah. Maybe we saw all the good things that life has to offer, and suddenly we're thinking "Why am i choosing this life? I could be carefree, hakuna matata, i don't need to think about D&T..i want to enjoy hanging out, i want to spend however i like, i want this, i want that.."

Well brother, in heaven we can hang out with the coolest people. People who never talk bad about you, never say frivolous stuff, you love them without the slightest envy, and they love you right back.

And in heaven you can have anything you want. And there's a whole eternity to enjoy all that. Not a bad deal at all, if you ask me.

We get up, we fall down. And in surah an-Naas, Allah tells us about the dangerous enemy that tries to steer us away from the true path.

مِنْ شَرِّ الْوَسْوَاسِ الْخَنَّاسِ الَّذِي يُوَسْوِسُ فِي صُدُورِ النَّاسِ مِنَ الْجِنَّةِ وَالنَّاسِ

"From the evil of the whisperer who withdraws (from his whispering in one's heart after one remembers Allâh). Who whispers in the breasts of mankind, Of jinns and men." (An Naas:4-6)

There are a lot of whisperers, asking us to stay away from the straight path. But remember, they are khannaas, they are like the stars that appear at night and disappear by day. They'll be there to ask you to go astray. Once you do the evil deed, they'll say 'arrivederci' and leave you to bear the consequences alone.

But this surah also teaches us a powerful lesson : who do we ask for help in dealing with all these whispers, and who will get us on our feet again.

 قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ مَلِكِ النَّاسِ إِلَهِ النَّاسِ

Say: "I seek refuge with (Allâh) the Lord of mankind, The King of mankind, The Ilâh (God) of mankind, (An-Naas:1-3)

The whisperers, they come and go. But Allah is always there, he never gets tired and never sleeps. 

Its normal to fall. But do get up soon. It'll be good if we're neighbours in heaven.