Al-Istikhlāf framework in the age of artificial intelligence: reclaiming the human identity and responsibility in the digital era

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as one of the most disruptive forces of the twenty-first century, reshaping cultures, economies, social relations, and even the definition of human intelligence, creativity, and knowledge. Beyond its technical and economic effects, AI raises profound questions about human identity, responsibility and purpose: if machines can imitate reasoning, generate knowledge, and even simulate empathy, what remains distinctive about the human being? This article aims to highlight the Qur’ānic perspective of the human being and intelligence as a response to the current discourse on AI and the human being. The Qur’ānic conception of the human being as ʿAbd [slave of Allah (ﷻ)] and Khalīfah (vicegerent on earth) provides a key to unlock the discourse on the matter at hand. The article employed library research and textual analysis. Drawing on Qur’ānic exegesis, classical Islamic scholarship, and contemporary AI ethics, it contrasted natural intelligence with machine computation and highlighted the unique moral, spiritual, and teleological dimensions of humanity that cannot be replicated by algorithms. The article then applied the al-Istikhlāf framework to assess AI’s impact on identity, psychology, social relations, labour, and spiritual life. It then outlined the normative guidance through Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah (higher objectives of the law). The article concluded that the human identity, grounded in the faculties of ʿAql (intellect), Qalb (heart), Rūḥ (soul), Nafs (self), and Fiṭrah (primordial disposition), offers a coherent ethical and ontological framework for engaging AI. The article concluded that Muslims must not remain passive consumers of technology but should actively shape responsible AI development and governance with humility, moral clarity, and divine purpose, ensuring that innovation serves human flourishing rather than eroding it