Technology and Islam: The Ruling on Tools

One of the most fundamental principles of Islam is that when determining the ruling on something, one looks not merely at its appearance or its possible misuse, but at its overall balance of benefit and harm. Today, debates about technological tools such as television, smartphones, and artificial intelligence often ignore this principle and label the tools themselves as harmful or forbidden. Yet the essence of traditional jurisprudence is to judge not the tools, but the purposes and methods behind them.
Islamic law assesses an act or object according to the essence it carries and the purpose of its use. The legal maxim el-umûr bi-mekâsıdihâ ("matters are judged by their purposes") is the cornerstone of this understanding. Accordingly, if a tool does not directly and necessarily produce something that is itself forbidden, it is not possible to rule that the tool is forbidden. The pen is the simplest example. It is the same pen whether used to write scholarship or slander. The pen is neither sacred nor satanic in itself; what makes it one or the other is the intention of the hand that holds it and the direction in which it is aimed. The same logic applies to television, the internet, smartphones, and artificial intelligence.
In classical Islamic jurisprudence, one of the strongest criteria for deciding whether something is permissible or forbidden is the consideration of the balance between benefit (maslaha) and harm (mafsada). If the potential harm of something outweighs its benefit, it may be restricted. But if the benefit clearly predominates, prohibiting it is not legitimate. A medicine may have dozens of side effects, yet unless those side effects make it more dangerous than the illness it treats, prohibiting it is wrong. On the contrary, using it at the right dose and for the right indication is both a medical and an ethical responsibility. Technology should be evaluated in the same way: without denying its side effects, while giving full weight to its social benefit.
It must also be stated clearly that some tools, by their nature, lead directly to what is forbidden. Gambling machines, instruments of sorcery, and the paraphernalia for using narcotics fall into this category, since they have no legitimate defining use, or their primary function is itself oriented toward the forbidden. Television, the internet, and artificial intelligence are not in this category, because their primary and dominant function is to convey information, communicate, learn, and create. Misuse is a secondary and incidental matter. It is not a necessity inherent in the nature of these tools.
Surah al-A'raf, verse 32, plays a decisive role in this discussion:
> "Say: Who has forbidden the adornments that God has brought forth for His servants, and the good provisions? Say: They belong to those who believe in this worldly life, and on the Day of Resurrection they will be theirs alone. Thus do We make the signs clear for a people who know." (al-A'raf, 7/32)
This verse declares that God's bounties are, in general, subject to the principle of permissibility (ibāha). Declaring a bounty, a tool, or an opportunity forbidden without legitimate evidence directly contradicts it. The verse locates the test not in tools but in human choices and intentions. Television, smartphones, and AI make humanity's accumulated knowledge, art, health information, and communicative capacity accessible to all. To declare them forbidden merely because they might be misused runs against the spirit of this verse.
Surah as-Saffat, verse 96, states:
> "And God created you and what you make."
This verse expresses a theologically comprehensive truth. When a human produces, discovers, or invents, he is only an instrument. The true Creator is God. The engineer who discovered the transistor, the scientist who designed the architecture of AI, and the physicist who invented fiber-optic cable are all instruments of God's decree and will. From this perspective, technology is not a product of chance, but a reflection of the reason, curiosity, and capacity for discovery that God has bestowed upon humans. Rejecting technology therefore amounts, in a sense, to rejecting the capacity God gave humanity and the products of that capacity.
Surah al-A'raf, verse 188, reveals the limits of the human being:
> "Say: I have no power to benefit or harm myself except as God wills."
Surah at-Tawba, verse 51, adds:
> "Say: Nothing will befall us except what God has decreed for us. He is our Protector, and upon God let the believers rely."
These verses show how human will and action relate to divine will. The emergence of artificial intelligence, the spread of internet connectivity to all of humanity, and the development of translation algorithms all took place by God's permission. From the perspective of these verses, rejecting the emergence of such tools or equating them with evil is an inconsistent stance.
In Islam, tabligh, conveying God's message to people, is both an individual and a collective responsibility. The Quran clearly states that messengers were sent to every community in its own language. Surah Ibrahim, verse 4, shows how fundamental it is that language barriers be removed so the message can be understood. Today more than 7,000 languages and thousands of dialects are spoken across the world. No person can know all of them, and no team of translators can simultaneously cover them all. The language-processing capacity of AI opens a field precisely where the responsibility of conveying the message meets technology. Today's large language models can understand, translate, and generate content in hundreds of languages. This is an opportunity unprecedented in Islamic history. A person in a rainforest in Asia, a young man in a remote village in Africa, or a small indigenous community in South America can now reach the message of Islam in their mother tongue through an AI-supported system. Moreover, AI does not only translate. It can explain complex religious concepts at a given level of education, answer questions, and refer to Quranic verses. This capacity does not eliminate traditional methods of tabligh; rather, it strengthens them and extends their reach.
Television and digital video content also offer a unique opportunity for tabligh. People are influenced far more powerfully and lastingly by visual narrative than by text. Neuroscience research indicates that audiovisual content remains in memory much longer than written text. A film or documentary can convey in a few hours an emotional depth that a book of hundreds of pages cannot. This can strengthen the faith of Muslims, and by helping millions of people who have not yet encountered Islam feel its deep connection to human history, it can serve as a means of tabligh. Ignoring this potential is like setting down a powerful instrument.
A knife both cuts bread and injures people. A car both takes us to the hospital and causes accidents. A medicine both treats and, in overdose, kills. This reality does not require us to ban the knife, the car, or the medicine. It requires a culture of proper use, education, and regulation. Likewise, television and AI carry a dual potential. Obscene content can be broadcast on television, and medical education can be given on the same screen. AI can be used to produce disinformation, and the same technology can be used to diagnose cancer. What must be done is not to reject the tool, but to build the ethical framework, education, and responsibility that direct it toward the right ends.
Throughout history, Muslims have embraced technological and intellectual developments rather than rejecting them, and have contributed to them. In the golden age of Islamic civilization, work in mathematics, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, and philosophy produced not only theoretical knowledge but also practical tools. Al-Khwarizmi's algebra, Ibn Sina's medical encyclopedia, and al-Biruni's geodetic measurements are all products of the desire to use and advance the most sophisticated technology of their time. Today, for Muslims to take a passive stance toward AI or to reject it runs against this deep tradition. On the contrary, contributing to AI's development, helping to shape its ethical framework, and ensuring its use is consistent with Islamic values is both a religious and a civilizational responsibility.
The argument "This tool can be misused, therefore it is dangerous" is internally inconsistent. If one follows this logic, education becomes forbidden (since knowledge can be used to make weapons), money becomes forbidden (since it is used in bribery), and language becomes forbidden (since it can be used to lie). None of these conclusions is acceptable. The possibility of misuse calls for oversight of a tool, education of its users, and the assumption of social responsibility, not for banning it. Islamic law itself adopts this perspective: what is forbidden is not the tool, but the intention, act, and method that lead to the forbidden.
Evaluating the arguments presented here as a whole leads to the following conclusion: television, smartphones, and artificial intelligence cannot be considered forbidden in themselves under the fundamental principles of the Quran. These tools are products of the reason and discovery capacity God has bestowed upon humanity. They become means of good or harm depending on the intention and method of those who use them. When used for tabligh, knowledge, justice, and service to humanity, they open a great door of reward.
Returning to the context of Saffat 96, it bears repeating that the One who creates these tools is ultimately God, and the human is merely the means. The responsibility facing Muslims today is not to reject technology, but to use it correctly, honestly, and in accordance with human values. The potential of AI to introduce Islam to the world, to translate the Quran into every language, to correct misunderstandings of religion, and to open the doors of knowledge to broad masses is a very concrete and urgent opportunity. Seizing it is a requirement of the principle of emr-i bi'l-ma'ruf ve nehy-i ani'l-münker (enjoining good and forbidding wrong).
The wrong is not the tool. The wrong lies in the direction, the path, and the method. Instead of drying up the pen's ink, write the right words. Instead of switching off the screen, publish the right content. Instead of blocking AI, use it for truth and good. This is the responsibility of the Muslim of this age. Recognizing the adornments God created and offered to His servants, giving thanks for them, and using them in the best way is a requirement of both reason and faith.
> "Say: Who has forbidden the adornments that God has brought forth for His servants?" (al-A'raf, 7/32)