What Muslim Americans Should Know
By Maariya Quadri
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the newest technology taking the world by storm, in classrooms, offices, and even our homes. As with any societal change, some people are apprehensive of it and while there are some cons to the rise of artificial intelligence usage, this technology can impact society beneficially as well.
For instance, when you look something up on Google, you leave a carbon footprint because each search requires electricity. The same is true when inputting a question into a generative AI platform like ChatGPT. However, emissions from an AI search are much greater due to its more complex functions.
A search engine simply shows you all the websites that relate to your question, making you search for the answer yourself. A generative AI platform takes all the information that exists about your prompt and generates a new product entirely, giving you a more direct response.
For example, when someone types the word “Kaaba” into a search engine, the results show websites that provide more information on what the holy site is, as well as photographs taken over the years. Generative AI, however, takes all the images that already exist of the Kaaba and creates a completely new one based on what it has seen.
This requires much more energy. According to the International Energy Agency, generative AI sites such as ChatGPT use about 10 times the amount of electricity than a Google search.
Before this AI boom, fossil fuel plants were on the route to closing, cleaning our air and benefiting our environment. Now, big tech companies like Google and Microsoft are ensuring that these large coal plants keep running in order to accommodate their AI systems. However, they continue to make grand promises about the clean future their AI will bring while neglecting to mention the usage of heavily polluting fossil fuel plants required to operate this new technology. These limitations say nothing of the time it will take to get to that improbable future.
In short, society is moving forward at last in part because of this new technology, but at a great ecological cost. Yet as Muslims, we should make an effort to take care of the planet Allah has provided as the Quran tells us: “It is He Who has produced you from the Earth and settled you therein” (Quran 71:17-18).
Muslims and AI
Some Muslims are cautious of this innovative technology when it comes to learning about their own religion. To raise awareness on the topic, the DarusSalam Seminary in Chicago held a weekend retreat in May that included experts in both Islamic sciences and technology to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence.
One of the big takeaways from this retreat was that AI, while functional, does not work in every situation. For example, when one has a general question, a simple Google search is enough. When it comes to matters of Islam, though, it is hard to get a clear answer from Google as it has a multitude of results which may or may not be factual or helpful.
AI, on the other hand, scans the internet for the user and generates a more direct and instantaneous response. As a result, some Muslim AI users have utilized this new technology to seek answers to questions of fiqh (Islamic law). And yet many Islamic scholars have strongly advised against getting fatwas, or specified rulings, from such platforms.
Mufti Abrar Mirza, the Head Mufti of Darul Ifta in Chicago, encouraged Muslims to turn to human scholars, rather than AI platforms, even if getting the answer takes longer.
“A mufti is not just sharing his own opinion,” he said. “He has extensively studied both academic and spiritual sciences.”
On the contrary, according to Mufti Wahaajuddin Mohammed of the Tawheed Center of Farmington Hills, AI is not something to be feared. “AI is a tool and can be used responsibly or irresponsibly. But it doesn’t behoove us to turn away from it,” he said.
Waleed Kadous, PhD, chief scientist of California-based AI developer Anyscale, said the benefits of AI outweigh the harm. He cited the hesitation when calculators and cars were introduced as examples of previous new technologies that are now cornerstones of our society. “There is always a fear of a loss of skill with the arrival of new technologies,” he said.
Mawlana Tahseen Khan, who, while working full-time as a chemical engineer, is pursuing advanced studies in Islamic theology, said it is up to Muslims to be more proactive in learning matters of the deen. “The challenges of today are only going to increase,” he said. “We must ensure we’re equipped to face the fitnah (trials). If you’re connected to the masjid, the ulama, Quran and sunnah, you’ll get through the storm.”
Khan reminded attendees of the verse of the Quran: “Or have they associated with Allah partners who ˹supposedly˺ produced a creation like His, leaving them confused between the two creations? Say, ‘Allah is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Supreme’” (13:16).
Khan explained God is the only being who can create without any prior material. “No matter how intelligent humans are, no matter how quick the processing of a computer may end up being, the fact of the matter is this creation is not similar to Al-Khaliq, The Creator,” he said.
AI Can Still be Advantageous to Muslims
While Muslims should be cautious about using AI to better understand the deen, they shouldn’t completely dismiss its usefulness. The Tarteel app, for example, uses AI to assist users in memorizing the Quran. It listens to users as they recite the Quran and uses artificial intelligence to alert them when they make a mistake in real time and offers corrections.
This is a wonderful example of utilizing new technologies to continue to preserve the traditions of our past. This app uses artificial intelligence to preserve the sacred chain of knowledge and hifz all the way back to Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu alaihi wa sallam) in a more accessible way.
Artificial intelligence can also be used for questions about Umrah and Hajj, like Saudi Arabia’s Guidance Robot. There are also virtual reality simulators that can be especially beneficial for people who are unable to visit these holy sites in person. In both these endeavors, AI is helping Muslims become closer to their Lord instead of taking them away.
During a khutbah about AI and ChatGPT at the Yaqeen Institute in Texas, founder Shaikh Omar Suleiman encouraged the Muslim community to have hope in God and to find joy and reward in doing everything for His sake and the benefit of mankind, even if it is a little less convenient than becoming completely dependent on new technologies. With continued beneficial efforts and intentions, AI has the potential to assist the Muslim community.
Maariya Quadri, an avid reader and nature lover, lives in Illinois with her family. A pre-law student pursuing communications and technology, she volunteers as a community relations commissioner for her village and works as a youth mentor.