Ethical and Epistemological Perspectives of Islam on Artificial Intelligence and Social Change: An Integrative Framework Based on Maqasid al-Shariah

Abstract

The exponential development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) not only transforms global technological and economic landscapes but also reshapes social structures, religious authorities, and knowledge-production patterns in modern society. Despite providing extraordinary efficiencies, AI introduces fundamental ethical dilemmas that secular-utilitarian ethical paradigms and pure technocratic profit criteria fail to resolve completely. This study aims to elaborate deeply on Islamic ethical and epistemological perspectives in responding to the existential challenges of AI, as well as to construct a technology governance framework rooted in the philosophy of Maqasid al-Shariah. Employing a qualitative normative-library research method, this study analyzes classical and contemporary Islamic legal sources compared with recent digital ethics literature. The findings indicate that the integration of Maqasid al-Shariah values—specifically the preservation of religion (hifz al-din), life (hifz al-nafs), intellect (hifz al-aql), progeny/honor (hifz al-nasl), and wealth (hifz al-mal)—can cover the blind spots in modern AI governance. The principles of harm prevention (la darar wa la dirar), transcendental moral responsibility (taklif), and information verification criteria (tabayyun) are capable of mitigating algorithmic bias, personal data commercialization, and the erosion of critical human thinking. This study concludes that AI must be positioned as an instrument of stewardship (khilafah) oriented toward public welfare (maslahah mursalah), and recommends the formation of an interdisciplinary consortium among Islamic legal scholars, technologists, and policy regulators.