Use AI-videos sparingly to avoid misunderstanding - Mufti

SHAH ALAM – It is crucial to restrict the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated videos if they causes misunderstanding in order to prevent confusion and unwanted consequences.

Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor questioned the necessity of AI videos which created misleading impressions and stressed taking action to prevent such issues from persisting and causing confusion in the community.

“If there's the capability to address this concern, efforts should be made to curb the influence of harmful content.

“In cases where intervention is challenging, mosques and surau can serve as intermediaries to convey messages to Muslims, shielding them from negative influences and potential harm,” he told Sinar Daily when contacted recently.

He was commenting on a recent video circulated on social media platforms of UAE celebrating its 52nd National Day with the unveiling of two giant statues of Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid, who Emiratis consider the founding fathers of the nation.

The video caused an uproar among Muslims around the globe with many pointed out that the existence of such statues were haram in Islam, but it was later revealed that the video was AI-generated.

When asked further about the Islamic point of view about engraving such statue in the case if they were real, Wan Salim said there were many views and opinions from Islam experts, scholars and hadiths that were available and one of the view was it was forbidden and sinful.

However, he stressed that some views believed that Islam did not put an absolute prohibition on statues if it was deemed a necessity, but it could be made depending on certain conditions.

Salim said that the statues could be used if it was for the purpose of educational or research contexts.

For unnecessarily made statues, he pointed out that many discussions were made about it and Islam underlined it in hadith including the form of punishment and torture on the Day of Judgment regarding the carving of statues.

Quoting a hadith from Bukhari and Muslim, Salim highlighted Prophet Muhammad said "Indeed, the person whose punishment will be the most severe on the Day of Judgment is the person who makes carvings or sculpts this statue.

Salim also mentioned another hadith from Bukhari, where Prophet Muhammad said "Whoever makes a statue, on the Day of Judgment, he will be forced to blow the spirit into it because he will forever be unable to blow the spirit."

Wan Salim urged people to avoid creating statues without a genuine need, as such practices could lead to unwanted incidents and negative influences, particularly for those easily swayed by temptations.