Legal pluralism in the digital governance of contemporary Hajj: emerging questions of comparative fiqh

The digital transformation of Hajj has significantly reshaped pilgrimage governance through integrated platforms, biometric identification, digital permits, and automated administrative systems. While existing scholarship primarily evaluates these developments from technological and managerial perspectives, comparatively little attention has been devoted to their implications for Islamic legal governance. This study examines the digital governance of contemporary Hajj through the analytical framework of legal pluralism and Hanafi jurisprudence. Employing a qualitative doctrinal and conceptual methodology, it analyses classical Hanafi legal theory alongside contemporary governance frameworks and Saudi digital pilgrimage policies. The study argues that digital platforms do not constitute autonomous sources of legal authority but derive their legitimacy from Sharīʿah principles, juristic reasoning, and lawful governmental delegation. It introduces three interconnected theoretical contributions: Derivative Legal Authority, Managed Legal Pluralism, and a Hanafi-Informed Digital Governance Framework explaining how digital regulation may remain compatible with Islamic legal legitimacy. The findings demonstrate that sustainable digital governance depends upon jurisprudential validation, institutional accountability, and proportional administrative regulation rather than technological capability alone. The proposed framework offers a transferable model for evaluating digital governance across broader fields of Islamic public administration.