Constructing the Framework for Robotics Waqf Fatwa
Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudential Foundations for Accelerating Autism Therapy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64016/parewasaraq.v5i1.69Keywords:
Anthropomorphic Robots, Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, Islamic Medical Ethics, Contemporary Islamic Jurisprudence, FatwaAbstract
The rapid integration of artificial intelligence technologies within the global medical landscape has precipitated significant discursive tensions in contemporary Islamic jurisprudence, particularly concerning the ethical boundaries and legal legitimacy of employing anthropomorphic robots for highly complex therapeutic objectives. Although robotic technologies, such as the NAO model, have been empirically proven as crucial in clinical interactions for children with autism, current muʿāmalah (Islamic transactional and social law) literature maintains a profound analytical lacuna regarding the validity of waqf (charitable endowment) for movable assets that visually intersect with the prohibition of depicting animate beings, or taṣwīr (the representation or depiction of living beings). This research intervenes in the academic debate by reconstructing legal reasoning that systematically synchronizes classical philanthropic doctrines with cutting-edge medical technology innovations through a Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah (the objectives of Islamic law) approach and a comprehensive uṣūliyyah (principles of Islamic legal methodology) analysis of contemporary fatwā (authoritative legal opinions) consensuses. The primary findings affirm that the procurement and waqf (charitable endowment) of such anthropomorphic robots are Sharīʿah-compliant (in accordance with Islamic law), predicated on the extension of qiyās (analogical reasoning) to pedagogical instruments and the principle of maṣlaḥah mursalah (unrestricted public interest) in the protection of intellect and life, which are prioritized over classical textual constraints, thereby offering a transformative legal-ethical framework capable of accommodating rapid medical-technological advancement to realize sustainable human welfare in the digital era.
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