Ethical Artificial Intelligence in South African Higher Education: Integrating Tarbiyyah, Ta’līm, and Ta’dīb for Academic Agency and Critical Digital Pedagogy

Shireen Ismail; Nazira Hoosen; Aaishah Lombard

doi:10.25159/2957-9163/20372

Authors

Shireen Ismail UJ/WITS https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2029-890X
Nazira Hoosen Unniversity of Witwatersrand
Aaishah Lombard University of Johannesburg https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9301-780X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25159/2957-9163/20372

Keywords:

digital pedagogy, tarbiyyah, ta’līm, ta’dīb, artificial intelligence

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in education requires an ethical review of current pedagogical practices. This qualitative study aims to support the ethical use of AI in teaching, assessment, and decision-making within digital pedagogy in South African higher education. It explores how faith-based ethics grounded in the Islamic principles of tarbiyyah (positive moral formation), ta’līm (knowledge as trust), and ta’dīb (ethical discipline) can guide the integration of AI within critical digital pedagogy. A collaborative autoethnographic method was employed in this research. Journal reflections served as the primary data collection method, and thematic analysis was conducted over a six-month period. We examined our understanding of Islamic principles concerning AI integration and its impact on academic agency and pedagogical practices. Our findings highlight three key themes: ethically grounded educational practices, human-centred empowerment, and transformative, justice-oriented AI praxis. The broader implications contribute to rethinking education as an ethical endeavour in which AI supports holistic development and character building, with a focus on human dignity and agency. This approach advocates integrating Islamic ethical frameworks with decolonial critiques as a spiritually informed alternative to dominant technocratic narratives in digital pedagogy in South Africa.

Author Biographies

Nazira Hoosen, Unniversity of Witwatersrand

Dr. Nazira Hoosen is an academic at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) with a PhD in the interdisciplinary digital knowledge economy, focusing on critical digital pedagogic (CDP) practices. She has taught Finance and Business Management across South Africa and the Middle East, facilitated courses on policy and governance, consulted in government, and contributed to the rollout of blended learning platforms in the Middle East.

She is a member of Universities South Africa's (USAf) Teaching and Learning Strategy Group (TLSG) and the Digital Education Community of Practice (CoP). Her research examines academic identity, digital agency, and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in Higher Education. Dr. Hoosen also supervises postgraduate students, co-facilitates professional learning programmes, and contributes to doctoral training through the Wits Doctoral Academy (WDA).

A CARTA (Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa) alumna, she is committed to culturally responsive learning design and advancing critical perspectives on educational technologies. Her work aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research, enhance supervision quality, and explore the evolving role of digital tools in Higher Education.

Aaishah Lombard, University of Johannesburg

Aaishah Lombard is a Lecturer in Religion Studies at the University of Johannesburg and a PhD candidate, with a scholarly focus on Islam and Muslim lived realities in contemporary South Africa. A South African Muslim scholar with a strong grounding in traditional Islamic education, she holds an Aalimia qualification from Madressa Zakariya lil Banaat in Lenasia, rooted in the Darul Uloom tradition.

Expanding her academic trajectory, she earned a BA Honours in Islamic Studies and an MA in Semitic Languages and Cultures from the University of Johannesburg. Her research interests span Islamic liberation theology, religion and social justice, lived religion, practical theology, and Islamic psychology. She adopts ethnographic and liberationist methodologies to explore how faith-based worldviews inform individual and communal well-being, particularly within South African Muslim communities.

Aaishah is passionate about creating inclusive academic spaces grounded in decolonial, experiential, and dialogical pedagogies. She welcomes postgraduate supervision in areas related to Islam and contemporary society, liberation theology, and qualitative approaches to religion.

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