Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence
Series 1 | Part 2: Can Artificial Intelligence Make Moral Decisions?
In my last conversation, I observed the importance of AI in Da’wah activities and how it can shape its efficiency and delivery. But this cannot come without a serious concern�� fallibility of unnatural intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence can write essays. It can diagnose diseases. It can analyse thousands of documents within seconds. It can even outperform humans in certain complex tasks. But here’s a question to ponder on:
Can Artificial Intelligence make a moral decision?
I honestly don’t think intelligence and morality are the same.
Today’s AI systems can recognise patterns, predict outcomes, and generate responses based on the data they have been trained on. They can tell us what is likely or what is efficient, but they cannot genuinely distinguish what is right from what is wrong in the human analytical sense.
A machine may identify the fastest solution. It cannot possess a conscience, and from an Islamic perspective, this distinction is important.
Islam teaches that human beings are entrusted with moral responsibility. We are accountable for our choices because we possess intellect, free will, and the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. Every decision carries ethical weight, and every individual is ultimately answerable to Allah for the choices they make.
Artificial Intelligence does not carry that responsibility.
When an AI system recommends who should receive a loan, screens job applications, assists in a medical diagnosis, deliver justice, or helps answer religious questions, the technology itself is not morally accountable. The responsibility remains with the people who design it, deploy it, annotate and rate it, regulate it, and rely on its recommendations.
This is why conversations about AI should never focus only on capability. They must also focus on ethics.
As AI becomes more powerful, our responsibility as human beings becomes even greater. We need systems that are not only intelligent but also developed with fairness, transparency, accountability, and respect for human dignity. I emphasized on this in my research.
For Muslims, this aligns closely with principles such as ʿAdl (justice), Amānah (trust), Iḥsān (excellence), and Raḥmah (compassion). These values should not remain within our places of worship alone, they should also inform the technologies we build and the societies we shape.
Artificial Intelligence may continue to evolve. But moral responsibility will remain a uniquely human trust.
Perhaps the future of AI will not be defined solely by how intelligent our machines become, but by how wisely we choose to use them.
What do you think? As AI becomes more involved in our daily lives, who should bear responsibility for its decisions—the machine, its developer, the organization using it, or the human making the final decision?
Habeeb Olanrewaju
Researcher | Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence
Entrepreneur, Herapath Innovations
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This reflection is adapted from my ongoing research on Islam, Ethics, Artificial Intelligence, and Da’wah. The aim is to make academic conversations on AI and Islamic ethics more accessible to a wider audience.
Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence | Series 1 – Part 2
Emotional opinions everywhere. Some will Shior themselves in the leg attacking or condemning without outright and logical proof or backup. There are about three-four cases involved in this act:
- A Muslim entering a worship center of another religious faithful
- A Muslim producing music
- A Muslim professional extending services to monMuslims
- A Muslim propagating Christianity in the Church
With the above, respectfully and respectively disagree with your reasons and not Cho Cho Cho laced with emotional sugars.
@yabaleftonline This is incredible and creative. The pastor adopts a relative and funny approach to perform his miracles and deliverance. Not everything should be lackadaisical. Let’s give it to him.
Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence
Series 1 | Part 1: Did Islam Ever Oppose Technology?
One of the biggest misconceptions I have encountered in discussions (Academic or Non-academic) around Artificial Intelligence is the assumption that Islam is inherently resistant to technological advancement.
My academic research has revealed some abandoned facts (yes! facts can be abandoned). Let’s dig up few factual artifacts.
Long before the emergence of Artificial Intelligence, machine learning, robotics, or even modern computing, Islam consistently encouraged the pursuit of beneficial knowledge, critical thinking, observation of creation, and innovation that serves humanity.
The Qur’an repeatedly calls people to reflect on the heavens and the earth, to reason, to observe, and to seek understanding. Likewise, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) emphasized the virtue of seeking knowledge, making it a lifelong responsibility for every Muslim.
History itself bears witness to this reality.
Between the 8th and 13th centuries, during what historians describe as the Islamic Golden Age, Muslim scholars made groundbreaking contributions to medicine, mathematics, astronomy, engineering, optics, geography, architecture, and philosophy. Figures such as Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Jazari, Al-Idrisi, and Fatima al-Fihri laid intellectual foundations that later influenced scientific development across Europe and beyond.
This legacy reminds us that innovation is not foreign to Islam; rather, it has always been part of the Muslim intellectual tradition when pursued with wisdom, ethics, and sincere purpose.
Today, Artificial Intelligence represents another major technological shift.
The real question for Muslims is no longer whether AI should exist. It already does.
The more important question is:
How do we engage with Artificial Intelligence responsibly, ethically, and in ways that preserve our values while advancing human benefit?
Across the Muslim world, we are already seeing encouraging developments. AI-powered Qur’an learning platforms, intelligent recitation assistants, multilingual Islamic chat systems, and even AI-enabled services supporting Hajj and Umrah pilgrims demonstrate that technology can become a meaningful tool for education, accessibility, and Da’wah when guided by sound ethical principles.
Like every powerful technology before it, AI is neither inherently good nor inherently harmful. Its impact depends largely on the intentions, values, and responsibilities of those who build it and those who use it.
As Muslims, our challenge is not simply to consume technology, but to shape it with integrity, justice, compassion, and wisdom.
That, perhaps, is where the real conversation begins.
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This article is adapted from my Master’s dissertation, “An Assessment of the Application of Artificial Intelligence on Da’wah and Its Implications on Muslims in Ikeja Division of Lagos State,” alongside related seminar research. My goal is to make academic discussions on Islam, Ethics, and Artificial Intelligence more accessible beyond the classroom.
Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence | Series 1 – Part 1
I look forward to sharing more reflections from my research in the coming weeks. I would love to hear your thoughts: Does AI present a greater opportunity or a greater ethical challenge for faith communities?
@IdrisAOni1 Thank you for your sincerity, Doctor.
I have reviewed some of the verdicts, too and revisited historical events associated with communal supports toward religious worship center, especially for the Abrahamic religions, or safely call the Ahlul Kitāb. I opine in opposition.
@blackgirl_lala@NancyIsime678 Something is pushing me to be the agent God will send to aid that but I don’t know if that feeling is devilish or angelic
This morning, I thought of giving out an a opportunity for us all to eat from the Global AI dollars
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Mechanical Engineers
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A statement I read today stayed with me: ‘It’s better to be employed having a bad day at work than unemployed finding what to eat.’
It made me pause, reflect, compare and contrast. To be candid, it struck me with fear, especially in a critical time when I am planning an exit with a company to properly focus on my goal, career and company. But, I was able to connect the dot along with the “Availability bias” theory in psychology. This is a tendency to naturally give extra weight on immediate past or present stories to confirm our anxiety and fear. This reality significantly impacts our day-to-day decisions in both professional and personal life. A research outcome from Ping Li and colleagues concluded that even doctors can misdiagnose patients as a result of the availability bias (https://t.co/bWd7MUiPjg)
Islam teaches us that provision (rizq) is ultimately from Allah, yet it also commands us to strive with excellence (ihsān), tie our camel, and place our trust in Him (tawakkul). We are neither expected to be complacent nor overwhelmed by fear.
In today’s AI-driven economy, job security alone is no longer enough. Continuous learning, adaptability, and building valuable skills have become acts of responsibility. Artificial Intelligence is changing industries, but it is also creating opportunities for those willing to learn and unlearn; Having experienced seasons of uncertainty, success, and the fear of loss, I have come to believe not to build future on a single paycheck; but build on capacity and assurance. Where there’s no vivid assurance and security, especially when it cannot be controlled by you, you should plan ahead for the unforeseen circumstances, and that’s better than being caught up in a sudden loss; hence the trauma.
Employment may sustain you today, but knowledge, character, and competence will sustain you tomorrow, if fate works in favor, and with faith, it can.
I wish and pray for knowledge, healthy and lawful provision, and the wisdom to prepare for the future.
Habeeb Olanrewaju
Researching Islam, Ethics & Artificial Intelligence | Entrepreneur | Builder, Herapath Innovations