MACHINE REASONING AND MORAL RESPONSIBILITY: RECONSTRUCTING ISLAMIC ETHICS IN THE AGE OF AI
Abstract
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence has intensified debates concerning moral agency and accountability, particularly as machine reasoning systems increasingly mediate decisions in finance, healthcare, and governance. Prevailing AI ethics frameworks are largely grounded in secular philosophical paradigms, leaving limited engagement with Islamic moral philosophy. This study aims to reconstruct Islamic ethical concepts of agency, intention, and responsibility in response to the ontological and normative challenges posed by machine reasoning. The research employs a qualitative normative design integrating bibliometric mapping of AI ethics literature, thematic textual analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic sources, and critical hermeneutical reconstruction. Findings indicate that machine reasoning systems do not meet Islamic criteria for moral agency due to the absence of intention (niyyah) and legal accountability (takl?f). A layered model of responsibility is proposed, situating accountability within human agents and institutions while conceptualizing AI as an advanced instrumental mediator. The study concludes that Islamic ethics offers a coherent and adaptable framework for AI governance, preserving theological commitments while addressing distributed technological causation in contemporary societies.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ode Abdurrachman, Sevda Kara, Tungga Bhimadi Karyasa, Emma Clark
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