What Islamic Authorities Have Ruled About Artificial Intelligence
Islam has no single central authority that can speak for all 1.9 billion Muslims. That makes it different from the Catholic Church, and any honest account has to say so up front. But it does not mean Islam has been silent on artificial intelligence. Two major multinational Islamic bodies have issued formal, citable positions—and within their own spheres, those positions carry real weight.
This article summarizes both. Every quotation is taken from the official text and linked to its source; each source's scope—whom it actually binds—is named. The framing here is editorial; the authority belongs to the documents.
The juristic ruling: IIFA Resolution 258 (2025)
The International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), an organ of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, is one of the most significant bodies of collective ijtihād (juristic reasoning) in the Sunni world. At its 26th session in Doha, Qatar (4–8 May 2025), it issued Resolution No. 258 (3/26), "Artificial Intelligence: Its Rulings, Guidelines, and Ethics."
Its baseline ruling is permissive, not fearful:
"The default ruling regarding the development and use of artificial intelligence is permissibility (ibāhah), subject to the following ethical and legal conditions." — IIFA Resolution 258
It then sets six conditions. In the resolution's own terms, AI:
- must have a lawful purpose—"The purpose of its creation, use, funding, and outcomes must be lawful";
- "must serve to bring benefit and prevent harm";
- "must not insult or abuse beliefs, religions, or religious symbols";
- must protect information and preserve public and individual freedoms;
- "must not involve threats to individual, societal, or national security";
- "must adhere to honesty, proper documentation, and transparency in its use."
The Academy also recommended a legal study on whether AI should be granted any form of legal personality, and further specialized symposiums on AI's ethical implications.
Read it: IIFA Resolution 258. Scope: collective ijtihād for the scholars of OIC member states—authoritative within that body, not a single binding voice for every Muslim.
The intergovernmental charter: the Riyadh Charter (2024)
The second document is broader and governmental rather than juristic. On 11 September 2024, at the Global AI Summit in Riyadh, the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) launched the Riyadh Charter on Artificial Intelligence for the Islamic World. It was subsequently approved by ICESCO's 53 member states.
The Charter frames AI ethics in terms of human dignity and solidarity:
The Charter provides "a comprehensive framework within which the use of AI is compatible with ethical values, including respect for privacy and human dignity, and the promotion of equity and solidarity." — Riyadh Charter (ICESCO/SDAIA)
Its stated aim is "outlining a global framework for the development of AI technologies in line with the values and ethics of the Islamic world, and promoting inclusive and sustainable development." Its principles span integrity and fairness, privacy and security, reliability and safety, transparency and explainability, accountability and responsibility, and social and environmental benefit.
Read it: ICESCO — Riyadh Charter announcement. Scope: an intergovernmental framework adopted by ICESCO member states—policy guidance across 53 nations, not a fatwā binding on individual conscience.
What these texts do not say
- They do not prohibit AI. Both start from permissibility and then set guardrails.
- IIFA Resolution 258, in its published text, does not contain an explicit section on AI replacing human jurists; commentary sometimes attributes that view to it, but the resolution itself focuses on conditions for permissibility. We therefore do not put that claim in the resolution's mouth.
- Neither text speaks for Shia jurisprudence, for every national fatwa council, or for Muslims who follow other authorities. The diversity is real and is not flattened here.
Why this belongs on CalmFaith
On artificial intelligence, the Muslim world has answered through the registers its structure allows: a juristic academy issuing a formal resolution, and an intergovernmental organization issuing a charter. Both are quotable, sourced, and scoped. CalmFaith presents them as what they are—weighty, multinational, but not universal—rather than inventing a single "Islamic position" that no institution actually claims to hold.
All quotations verified against the linked official sources, each returning HTTP 200 on 1 June 2026. Where a source's wording and this summary differ, the primary text governs.