Hadith in the Age of Artificial Intelligence: Challenges of Validation, Interpretation, and Religious Authority

Abstract

The development of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought significant changes in the production, search, and understanding of religious knowledge, including the study of hadith. The ability of AI to access the digital corpus, present translations, summarize lectures, and answer religious questions offers convenience for the public in obtaining hadith information. However, this convenience also raises epistemological issues related to the validity of history, the accuracy of interpretation, and the legitimacy of religious authority. This study aims to analyze the problems of the use of AI in hadith studies, especially regarding the accuracy of source identification, hadith quality assessment, understanding the historical context, and the limits of AI's authority in producing religious explanations. The research uses a qualitative method based on literature studies with a critical-epistemological approach through analysis of the hadith science literature, the methodology of sanad and matan criticism, and contemporary studies on artificial intelligence. The results of the study show that AI can function as an auxiliary instrument in the search and processing of hadith information, but it cannot be positioned as an independent authority in determining the validity of the history or determining the meaning of the hadith. The limitations of source verification, the potential for information hallucinations, simplification of context, and reliance on training data require the involvement of hadith experts in the validation and interpretation process.