Fiqh Algorithm: Finding A Common Ground Between Fatwa and Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The development of artificial intelligence presents new challenges as well as opportunities for the development of Islamic law, especially in the context of the production, dissemination, and understanding of fatwas. The background of this research departs from the epistemological anxiety that algorithms that work through data patterns, probability, and automation have the potential to influence the way Muslims access religious authority. On the one hand, the integration of artificial intelligence in the fatwa ecosystem has a positive impact in the form of accelerating the search for law, expanding access to knowledge, efficiency of the istinbāṭ process, and strengthening the literacy of the ummah to various contemporary issues. However, on the other hand, the use of algorithms in the religious realm also has negative impacts, such as the potential for the reduction of the complexity of fiqh to an instant answer, the loss of the depth of ijtihad, data bias that can affect the results of recommendations, and the threat of obscuring the authority of the ulama. This research is important because the Islamic world needs a new epistemic framework that is able to bring together the ethos of fatwa with algorithmic logic without sacrificing the methodological integrity of fiqh. From this urgency, this study formulates two questions: First, how can the epistemological meeting point between algorithmic logic and fatwa methodology be explained? Second, how the ethics of using artificial intelligence can be formulated to be in line with maqāṣid al-sharī'ah. This research uses a qualitative method with a literature study approach through fiqh text analysis, technology studies, and AI ethics literature. The results of the study show that the meeting point between fiqh and algorithms can be found through the principles of maqāṣid, verification (taḥqīq al-manāṭ), and human-in-the-loop control that ensure that AI functions as an aid to ijtihad, not a substitute for scholars. Thus, "algorithmic fiqh" can be developed as a new approach that maintains sharia authority while responding to the demands of the digital age.