Can Inanimate Entities, Including AI, Literally Glorify Allah? An Exploration of Sūrah Isrā, Verse 44

Abstract

A literal interpretation of chapter 17, verse 44 of the Qur’an would imply that all things in creation, without exception, glorify God and thus may be said to have consciousness. This naturally applies to inanimate entities as well, including artificial intelligence (AI). There are already Muslim scholars who employ an unqualified literal interpretation of the verse to make particular points about Islamic metaphysics, or the Islamic occult, or lived Muslim societies. The question we ask in this article is the following: Is this literal reading of the verse sustained by the broader tafsīr tradition? Our conclusion is that the dominant strain in that tradition does allow for an unqualified literal interpretation of the verse. However, there are also other strains in this tradition, namely the metaphorical as well as the qualified literal interpretations, which may also have a role to play in how we approach the issue of consciousness in machines.