E-Prosiding Persidangan Serantau Manasik Haji 2025 (MANASIK2025)

MANASIK2025 Putrajaya, Malaysia, 7-8 Oktober 2025 629 INTRODUCTION Malaysia is widely acknowledged as a global leader in the management of Hajj affairs. Through Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), the country has developed a comprehensive model that integrates financial savings, logistical arrangements, and spiritual preparation for pilgrims. This centralised system not only facilitates the smooth organisation of Hajj and ʿUmrah but also ensures that Malaysian pilgrims receive structured guidance rooted in Sharīʿah principles. In addition to practical arrangements, pilgrims rely heavily on religious rulings- fatāwā -to address ritual complexities that arise during their pilgrimage. Such rulings cover matters ranging from compensatory sacrifices ( dam ) to health-related exemptions and ritual sequencing, which are crucial for ensuring the validity of the pilgrimage rites (Yusof & Abdullah, 2022). In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have begun to influence multiple sectors, including finance, healthcare, and education (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2020). Generative AI, in particular, has emerged as a powerful tool capable of generating natural-language responses to complex queries. However, while AI offers opportunities for expanding access to religious knowledge, it also raises significant concerns. Among these are the risks of misinterpretation, the generation of inaccurate or “hallucinated” rulings, and the potential erosion of accountabili ty among accredited scholars. The deployment of AI in the religious sphere is further complicated by the governance of fatwa in Malaysia. Unlike contexts where religious rulings are decentralised, the Malaysian system vests the authority of fatwa issuance in the Mufti and State Fatwa Committees (Adil, 2021). These rulings are only binding once consented to by the state ruler and gazetted under the respective State Enactments on the Administration of Islamic Law (Adil, 2021). At the national level, the Muzakarah of the National Council for Islamic Religious Affairs (MKI) deliberates on broader religious issues, but its resolutions are advisory unless formally adopted by state authorities. Furthermore, the Resolusi Muzakarah Haji Kebangsaan , formulated annually with the participation of TH, state muftis, and medical and fiqh experts, provides authoritative guidance on recurrent Hajj-related issues (Suhardi et al., 2025). These multi- layered structures underscore the complexity of integrating AI into Malaysia’s fatwa ecosystem. Statement of the Problem Despite Malaysia’s sophisticated Hajj management framework, there has been limited exploration of AI-driven fatwa automation in this context. While digital tools have been used for logistical support and pilgrim training, no official initiative has yet introduced AI systems capable of generating fatwa guidance. This absence reflects a cautious stance, as automated religious rulings could undermine both doctrinal integrity and institutional authority if left unsupervised. The problem is compounded by the inherent risks of AI systems: they may misrepresent Sharīʿah principles, fail to account for localised Malaysian fatwa contexts, or produce rulings without proper evidentiary reasoning ( istidlāl ). Moreover, without a conceptual framework that ensures compliance with Sharīʿah and Malaysia’s unique fatwa governance structures, any attempt to automate fatwa risks delegitimising the authority of state muftis and eroding public trust in religious institutions. This raises critical questions about how AI can be responsibly integrated to support rather than replace human scholarship. Addressing this gap is vital, particularly as the demand for real- time ritual guidance during Hajj and ʿUmrah continues to grow. Research Questions and Objectives This study is guided by the following research questions: 1. What are the Sharīʿah and legal conditions for valid fatwa issuance in Malaysia, particularly in the context of Hajj and ʿUmrah?