Create Robot: would all that be haraam if such is by creation of human mind, which itself is a creation of God ?
Mu` meneen
Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah`s Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question
I thankyou for your reply to my question 1384 whether it is also
haraam to predict the weather
just as it is haraam to
predict events.
If a
hundred years back a learned person, for example, predicted an eclipse at a
certain hour on a certain day, the not so learned would call him a heretic and
may kill him as a witch. Similarly our knowledge of "science" (
which is given to humans by God ) in the future will increase so
much so that man shall be able to 'predict' scientifically many events
unseen many years in advance.( like by creating the means to
communicate at a speed faster than a light year..)
A gradual creation of a 'robot' into a almost humanoid structure
with billions of sensor and motor functions
to create programmes and commands ( what we call
intelligence ) using the same 'clay' material found on earth, and
then, through genetic organ developement place
him, say, on Mars to propagate by itself... would all that be haraam
if such is by creation of human mind, which itself is a creation of God ?
(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above
statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and
statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
In
the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide,
and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear
witness that there is no one (no idol,
no person, no grave, no
prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone,
and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of
His Messengers.
Your
Statement: If a hundred years back a
learned person, for example, predicted an eclipse at a certain hour on a
certain day, the not so learned would call him a heretic and may kill him as a
witch. Similarly our knowledge of "science" ( which
is given to humans by God ) in the future will increase so much so
that man shall be able to 'predict' scientifically many events unseen many years
in advance.( like by creating the means to communicate at a speed
faster than a light year..)
Dear
Brother, if one
uses some scientific tools of knowledge,
and through that knowledge tries to predict the happening or movement of
some heavenly body and gives it a date according to its speed and
direction; there is absolutely no harm
in such prediction. The person is only
using the knowledge that Allah has bestowed upon him, and with the tools of his trade
available to him the scientist calculates the speed and time of the heavenly
body which Allah Subhanah has Decreed, and he comes up with a prediction that the
eclipse, or comet will appear at such
and such a time in the future. There is
absolutely no harm in such knowledge.
The
harm is when a person,
without any knowledge,
simply looks at some heavenly body,
and starts claiming some events in the future! Such a person is a confirmed liar, as he has
absolutely no knowledge and is saying something from his own whims, fancy,
conjecture and guess-work; to
give a false impression to the people that events of life are dictated by the
movement of the stars! To declare such
lies, and to
believe in the false predictions of such liars is a manifestation of the
heinous crime of ‘shirk’!
Sahih Muslim Hadith 133 Narrated
by Abu Hurayrah
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “Don't you know what your Lord said? Your Lord observed: ‘I (Allah) have never endowed My bondsmen with a
favor, but a section amongst them disbelieved
it, and said: stars, it was due to the
stars.’”
Your
Statement: A gradual creation of a
'robot' into a almost humanoid structure with billions
of sensor and motor functions to create programmes
and commands ( what we call intelligence ) using the same 'clay' material found
on earth, and then, through genetic organ development place him, say, on
Mars to propagate by itself... would all that be haraam
if such is by creation of human mind, which itself is a creation of God ?
Beloved
brother, this is
obviously a hypothetical scenario; thus
all we can give is our humble opinion on it.
There is absolutely no harm if the scientists of tomorrow create a robot
of a human structure,
use billions of sensor and motor or any functions available to
them, create programmes
and commands and all the software and hardware available to them, use any material they wish, and place him anywhere they wish to place
him…in the furthest galaxy available to them,
or in the deepest part of the ocean!
That would only be using part of the intelligence the Perfect Creator
bestowed upon man!
The
Perfect Creator created man,
man invents machines, and
machine creates things which man uses for various purposes…. Absolutely no harm
in inventing these machines!
The
harm is when man, in
his arrogance, tries to outgrow his
status and play God! The truth is that
every thing, absolutely everything, is in the control of the Lord and Creator of
the Universe….and no human being, or no
combination of human beings, can
outsmart the Creator! Leave alone
invent a robot the like of a human being,
with his intelligence and power of reasoning, with his emotions of love, and mercy,
and compassion, with his
faculties of seeing, and feeling, and understanding, etc.;
man is not even capable of creating the like of a house-fly, even if all of them got together to create one!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 22 Surah Hajj verse73:
O mankind! A parable is
related to you, so
listen to it! Those on whom you call
besides Allah, cannot
create a fly, even though they may all
combine together for this purpose! Nay!
If a fly snatches away anything from them, they would have no power to release it
from the fly! How weak are the those who
petition, and
how weak are those to whom they supplicate!
The
true dignity of man is identified only when he recognizes the Omnipotence and
Might of his All Knowing,
All Wise, All Powerful
Creator! The true dignity of man is
identified only when he truly and sincerely submits his will to the Will of his
Perfect Creator! And man loses his
dignity as a human being, when, in his arrogance and ignorance and pride, he tries to transgress the bounds of his Lord
and Creator, denies Him, His Signs,
and even His Existence!
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 31 Surah Luqman verses 6-7:
6 But there are among men
those who purchase idle tales without knowledge (or meaning) to mislead (men)
from the Path of Allah,
and throw ridicule (on the Path):
for such there will be a humiliating Penalty.
7 When Our Signs are rehearsed
to such a one, he
turns away in arrogance,
as if he heard them not; as if
there were deafness in both his ears:
announce to him a grievous Penalty.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
