The responsibility of spreading goodness and truth, and of safeguarding the divine principles revealed to humanity, rests upon every believer. In every age, the means of fulfilling this responsibility differ. Just as earlier generations of Muslims utilized the tools of their times to protect and convey the legacy of the Ahl al-Bayt, so too must we, in this era, utilize the mechanisms placed before us. Among the most prominent of these emerging tools is artificial intelligence, a field that has begun to reshape knowledge, communication, and influence across the world.
The central question before us is this: Can artificial intelligence be harnessed to serve the religion of Islam and to strengthen the voice of the school of Ahl al-Bayt ? The question remains: to what extent is it not only permissible but necessary, to use artificial intelligence for reviving and defending the matter of Ahl al-Bayt in our times? As the Imams emphasized: “Revive our matter.” This revival is not confined to rituals or commemorations, but extends to ensuring that their knowledge, values, and truths reach the farthest corners of the world in the most effective way.
Thus, the role of artificial intelligence in serving the school of Ahl al-Bayt is profound. It can amplify our message in the media, enhance our methods in education, refine our organization of efforts, and fortify our intellectual defense against the currents of falsehood. To neglect such a means is to fall short in our duty to “call to goodness.”
In the sections that follow, Sayyid Muneer al-Khabbaz explores these dimensions in detail, showing how artificial intelligence—when guided by sound religious principles—can become a powerful servant of the truth and a means of reviving the legacy of the Ahl al-Bayt for generations to come.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, and peace and blessings be upon the most honorable of prophets and messengers, Muhammad and his pure and purified family. And perpetual curse upon all their enemies until the Day of Judgment.
Allah the Blessed and Exalted said:
“And let there be among you a nation that calls to goodness and commands what is right and forbids what is wrong.”
Allah the Most High, the Great, has spoken the truth.
Among the means and mechanisms that have developed and emerged in the present era is the investment in artificial intelligence.
Do we, as Muslims and as Shia followers of the Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all), have scope in using and investing in artificial intelligence? The use and investment of artificial intelligence in spreading religion and promoting the school of thought of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all) is among the most important works and among the greatest in the position of working for the service of religion and serving the school of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them).
This is from several aspects we mention.
The First Aspect: The Media Aspect
We Muslims, particularly the Shia of Ahl al-Bayt, are backward in the media field. That is, we do not possess advanced media means in different languages through which we can convey our beliefs and convey our concepts and principles of Ahl al-Bayt to others.
Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) said: “Revive our cause,” and reviving their cause is not only through the recommended rituals that we practice during occasions of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them). Reviving their matter is by spreading their sayings, principles, and history through advanced media means.
Allah the Blessed and Exalted said: “And let there be among you a nation that calls to goodness,” and calling to goodness is about investing in media to spread goodness—and what goodness is greater than the principles of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all).
Therefore, we see emphasis from the pure Imams (peace be upon them) on spreading the school of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all):
“Be callers for us without your tongues.”
We do not want words, we want action, we want deeds, we want such effective advanced media works.
From the media aspect, spreading the school of Ahl al-Bayt requires that we use all advanced means, and among the most important is artificial intelligence—loading artificial intelligence with the history of Ahl al-Bayt, with the principles of Ahl al-Bayt, with their sayings—so that every researcher in any region of the world can enter and ask questions to artificial intelligence about Shia, about Shia beliefs, about Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them), and will find complete and comprehensive answers through our investment in artificial intelligence and loading it with this correct information.
The Second Aspect: The Educational Side
How do we teach our children the sciences of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all)?
It is narrated from Imam al-Sadiq (peace be upon him):
“Teach your children from our knowledge what benefits them,” and also:
“Hasten to teach your children hadith, lest the Murji’ah precede you.”
Our children, our youth—how do they learn the school of Ahl al-Bayt? Children who are in school, how do they learn the school of Ahl al-Bayt? They learn it through using artificial intelligence. A time will come when even a child will be able to use artificial intelligence easily. We must precede this time, we must precede this world. We must rush to use and invest in artificial intelligence in ways that benefit teaching our children.
Allah says:
“Read in the name of your Lord who created, created man from a clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous, who taught by the pen, taught man what he knew not.”
The Qur’an urges learning—learning what benefits a person. Among the important educational means is artificial intelligence, because it achieves discussion and dialogue between the speaker and artificial intelligence. This bilateral approach conveys information more effectively than the unilateral approach. When a person reads information in a book or online, this is unilateral. But when he discusses and debates with artificial intelligence, and information reaches him through these debates, this approach is stronger in the field of education and in consolidating information.
Therefore, artificial intelligence is an important educational tool for our children, youth, and young ones.
The Third Aspect: Organizing Matters
The Noble Qur’an says:
“And say: Work, for Allah will see your work, and His Messenger and the believers.”
What is required of us is to work—not to stand still, but to work, to move. And another verse says:
“Who created death and life to test you as to which of you is best in deed.”
After work, the next step is that our work should be the best and most perfect. Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said:
“The value of every person is what he excels at.”
We, praise be to Allah, are Shia of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all). We have festivals, conferences, celebrations; we have work—but we need to develop the work to what is better. We must move our work to a more advanced stage so that we become an example of the verse: “to test you as to which of you is best in deed.”
To move to better work, we need new means. Among the most important of those means is investing in artificial intelligence—loading it with our sciences, beliefs, and history so that we can later use it to develop our work.
We, as funeral ceremonies, processions, schools, institutes, universities, and seminaries, all need management. There is no company or institution without management. Management requires groups that innovate new means and methods, and artificial intelligence provides insights and ideas that may not be apparent otherwise.
Imam Ali (peace be upon him) said:
“Fear Allah and organize your affairs.”
For our management to be perfect and organized, we need to refer to the expert. Today, artificial intelligence is that expert.
The Fourth Aspect: Intellectual Power
Allah the Blessed and Exalted says:
“And prepare against them whatever you are able of power.”
We do not call for wars or confrontations; we call for preparing intellectual power, not military power. How do we resist the currents of modernity and postmodernity, and the ideas the West presents? The West is invading our homes with ideas that destroy families, women’s chastity, and call for deviant principles—leaving societies without families, kinship, neighbors, or cooperative principles.
How do we protect our children and generations from these intellectual currents? By building intellectual power, which in our time must be based on advanced means and mechanisms, including artificial intelligence.
We Muslims, and especially we Shia of Ahl al-Bayt, must take the initiative to invest in artificial intelligence and load it with what is appropriate, harmonious, and compatible with the school of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them all).
This requires cooperation between:
- The technical expert in artificial intelligence.
- The religious scholar from the seminary who provides the religious program and information.
- The user who applies artificial intelligence in life and management, sharing feedback to refine it.
We need these three elements to complete the work of education, media, and intellectual power.
We ask Allah the Blessed and Exalted to grant us success for His pleasure, to keep us away from His disobedience, and to make us among the servants of Ahl al-Bayt (peace be upon them) living and dead. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and peace be upon Muhammad and his pure family.
