Exploring AI-driven fatwa automation for Hajj and ʿumrah: a conceptual Sharīʿah-compliant framework in the Malaysian context

Ab Razak, Mohamed Rashid (2026) Exploring AI-driven fatwa automation for Hajj and ʿumrah: a conceptual Sharīʿah-compliant framework in the Malaysian context. In: Persidangan Serantau Manasik Haji 2025, 7-8 October 2025, DOUBLE TREE BY HILTON PUTRAJAYA.

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Abstract

Malaysia is globally recognised for its comprehensive Hajj management system, spearheaded by Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), which integrates financial, logistical, and spiritual preparation for pilgrims. In recent years, there has been growing interest in leveraging digital tools to provide instant ritual guidance. Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, presents opportunities to enhance accessibility for pilgrims while raising concerns over misinterpretation, hallucinated rulings, and erosion of scholarly accountability. To date, Malaysia has not adopted AI-driven fatwa automation, making it essential to conceptualise a Sharīʿah-compliant framework that aligns with existing fatwa governance structures. In Malaysia, fatwa issuance remains the prerogative of state authority—via the Mufti and State Fatwa Committee—and is binding only upon the Ruler’s consent and gazetting. At the national level, the Muzakarah of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) produces resolutions that are advisory unless adopted by a state, with JAKIM acting as the secretariat. In addition, the Resolusi Muzakarah Haji Kebangsaan formulated annually in consultation with TH, state muftis, and medical/fiqh experts serve as authoritative guidance for managing complex and recurrent issues of Hajj operations in Malaysia. This study employs a qualitative doctrinal approach: (i) analysing uṣūl al-fiqh conditions for valid fatwa alongside Malaysian legal-procedural rules; (ii) reviewing existing Malaysian Hajj-related fatwa and Muzakarah Haji resolutions to map recurrent issues faced by pilgrims (e.g., dam, health concessions, sequencing, rulings specific to women); (iii) examining the potential and risks of generative AI systems in addressing these issues; and (iv) applying a maqāṣid al-sharīʿah lens (protection of dīn, life, intellect, dignity, wealth) to assess safeguards. A hybrid, state-aligned model where AI functions as a supportive tool—operating on curated, authenticated corpora of Malaysian fatwa and Muzakarah resolutions, embedding an istidlāl (evidentiary) layer drawn from Qurʾān, Sunnah, and authoritative fiqh texts, and remaining under the supervision of accredited scholars. Deployment should be limited to official platforms (TH and state portals) with strict governance measures: audit trails, explainability, escalation protocols to human muftīs, and multilingual access for pilgrims. AI-driven fatwa in the Malaysian Hajj context should be explored as a supportive mechanism, never a replacement for human scholarship. If tethered institutionally to state fatwa authority and guided by maqāṣid-based safeguards, it could provide timely assistance to pilgrims while preserving the integrity of Sharīʿah and Malaysia’s fatwa governance.

Item Type:	Proceeding Paper (Other)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	(Generative AI, Fatwa Governance , Hajj Management, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah , Digital IslamicLaw)
Subjects:	BPC Science and Technology in Islam > BPC175 Islam and engineering. Sustainable engineering. Sustainable building
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws
Depositing User:	MOHAMED RASHID AB RAZAK
Date Deposited:	02 Sep 2026 14:56
Last Update:	02 Sep 2026 14:56
Queue Number:	2026-08-Q4951
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/131044
Indexed In:	UNSPECIFIED

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