We face a digital fitnah, where social media and AI threaten Islamic scholarship, while our scholars and academics engage in frivolous online debates. It’s time to reclaim our intellectual sovereignty.
By Prof Hamidullah Marazi (Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi)
Allama Iqbal, in one of his beautiful but thought-provoking futuristic poems, had envisaged the horrible consequences of modern Western education. In this poem titled “Taleem Aur Uss Ke Nataeej – Tazmeen Bar-Shair Mullah Arshi” (Education and its consequences – A Tazmin on a couplet by Mullah Arshi), we can discern the pain and anguish of the poet. He wants to convey that we find ourselves celebrating the outward success and development of our youth. Their rise in the world, their achievements, their access to knowledge; all of it seems promising. And yet, beneath our smiles, there is a sigh we cannot suppress:
Khush To Hain Hum Bhi Jawaanon Ki Taraqqi Se Magar
Lab-e-Khanda Se Nikal Jati Hai Faryaad Bhi Saath
(We, too, are pleased by the progress of our youth,
Yet along with our smiling lips escapes a cry of anguish.
This duality captures the paradox of modern education; it brings status, skills, and mobility, yet seems to erode something deeper: the soul, the tradition, the certainty of faith. We had once imagined that education would bring peace, rest, and ease. Instead, it has opened the door to alien philosophies and spiritual confusion.
Hum Samajhte Thay Ki Laayegi Faraaghat Taleem
Kya Khabar Thi Ki Chala Aayega Ilhaad Bhi Saath
(We believed education would bring us relief and peace —
Who knew that along with it would come disbelief?
The crisis is not just in what has been taught, but in what has been unlearned — reverence, rootedness, and recognition of the Divine. The home that once echoed with sacred memory and moral clarity now resonates with imported frameworks and borrowed doubts.
Even the beauty and brilliance of progress resemble the tale of Shireen entering the palace of Parvez – full of charm and promise – but accompanied by the tragic axe of Farhad. With every gain, a hidden cost. With every achievement, a looming risk.
Ghar Mein Parvez Ke Shereen To Huwi Jalwa Numa
Le Ke Aayi Hai Magar Taisha-e-Farhad Bhi Saath
(In the palace of Parvez, Shireen surely unveiled her beauty,
But she also brought along Farhad’s destructive axe.)
What, then, is to be done? When the very seeds we once planted — hoping for enlightenment — now bear fruit we are too ashamed to harvest, the answer is not despair, but renewal. It is time to begin again. To replant. To rebuild. To reorient our intellectual efforts with a spiritual compass.
Tukham-e-Deegar Bakaf Aaryem-Wa-Bakariyem Za-Nau
Kancha Kashtiyem Za Khujlat Natawan Kard Drau”
(Let us take a new seed in hand and sow anew,
For what we have sown, we are too ashamed to reap.
This is not merely a poetic reflection; it is a call to action. A call to restore balance between the head and the heart, between modern tools and timeless truths, between knowledge and wisdom. Education, if not guided by revelation, becomes a weapon against the very soul it was meant to elevate.
Let us, then, replant with care – with faith, with ethics, and with purpose. Let our next harvest not be one of regret, but of renewal.
In the backdrop of the above lines, when we observe a new fitnah in the form of social media ramblings among our half-educated religious senators who create one or another controversy every now and then, we see the same challenge amplified by modern social media and AI.
In recent times, a troubling trend has emerged within academic and religious circles: respected scholars of Islamic studies, researchers, and educators have begun to engage with, and at times respond to, the shallow provocations of so-called “Facebook warriors” and sensationalist voices on social media. These posts, often filled with sectarian overtones and personality-driven rhetoric, are neither grounded in sound knowledge nor do they reflect the intellectual rigour that Islamic scholarship demands. More concerning is the fact that many of these voices appear to be amplified by digital ecosystems whose agendas are not only alien but often hostile to the foundational principles of Islam.
The global information space, especially major social media platforms, is neither neutral nor innocent. It is shaped and directed by powerful interests, including Zionist and secular ideologies, whose long-standing objective has been to weaken the intellectual and spiritual foundations of the Muslim world. These platforms are not simply tools for expression; they are carefully engineered spaces where narratives are curated, dissent is managed, and ideological shifts are subtly imposed. Just as these forces have succeeded in co-opting many of our political leaders and monarchs to serve their geopolitical objectives, they now seek to influence the religious class, not through direct confrontation, but through gradual ideological redirection, distraction, and dilution.
As Dr Mahathir Mohamad once aptly said: “They made us fight their war.” We have been drawn into conflicts that are not ours, losing focus on the greater intellectual and spiritual battle — the battle to preserve faith, tradition, and a God-centered worldview in an increasingly materialistic and manipulated global order. Where once the manipulation came through open colonialism or media bias, today it arrives through subtler means: curated search engine results, biased encyclopedias, and most recently, through the widespread integration of artificial intelligence. With every click, swipe, and scroll, our thoughts are being shaped. Our ideas are being filtered. Our worldview is being moulded. We are no longer just passive consumers of information; we are becoming conditioned minds, responding to carefully engineered stimuli, all the while believing we are thinking freely.
Allama Iqbal foresaw this dilemma decades ago when he wrote: “We had hoped that education would bring us peace, but little did we know it would also bring along disbelief.” In a time when academic achievement is often equated with mere certification, and when even scholars chase likes, views, and shares, it becomes imperative to re-centre the purpose of Islamic knowledge. The role of the scholar is not to follow trends but to guide the community with wisdom, insight, and moral clarity. Islamic researchers and educators must re-anchor themselves in the foundational sources of our tradition — the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the legacy of the classical scholars — rather than being swayed by what is momentarily popular on digital platforms. We must cultivate a deep critical awareness of how these platforms operate and resist becoming reactive participants in a spectacle designed to divide and distract.
Artificial Intelligence, though a powerful tool, is not free from ideological bias. It reflects the assumptions, priorities, and values of those who design and train it. If we are not careful, we may find ourselves outsourcing our thinking, slowly surrendering our intellectual sovereignty without even realising it. We must therefore approach these technologies with both awareness and ethics, recognising their utility, but never losing sight of our own worldview, principles, and divine guidance.
This is a moment of reckoning for the Muslim intellectual community. The way forward is not through impulsive social media responses, nor through emotional sectarianism or personality worship. It lies in reviving a tradition of deep scholarship, principled discourse, and spiritual grounding. Our civilisation was not built on hashtags and viral videos, but on the back of rigorous inquiry, humility before revelation, and a deep commitment to truth and justice. Let us not allow ourselves to become pawns in a war designed by others. Let us rise as torchbearers of a noble legacy — one that seeks not applause, but the pleasure of the Creator; not popularity, but purpose. In doing so, we reclaim not just our voice, but our future.
Khush To Hain Hum Bhi Jawaanon Ki Taraqqi Se Magar
Lab-e-Khanda Se Nikal Jati Hai Faryaad Bhi Saath
(We, too, are pleased by the progress of our youth,
Yet along with our smiling lips escapes a cry of anguish.
This duality captures the paradox of modern education; it brings status, skills, and mobility, yet seems to erode something deeper: the soul, the tradition, the certainty of faith. We had once imagined that education would bring peace, rest, and ease. Instead, it has opened the door to alien philosophies and spiritual confusion.
Hum Samajhte Thay Ki Laayegi Faraaghat Taleem
Kya Khabar Thi Ki Chala Aayega Ilhaad Bhi Saath
(We believed education would bring us relief and peace —
Who knew that along with it would come disbelief?
The crisis is not just in what has been taught, but in what has been unlearned — reverence, rootedness, and recognition of the Divine. The home that once echoed with sacred memory and moral clarity now resonates with imported frameworks and borrowed doubts.
Even the beauty and brilliance of progress resemble the tale of Shireen entering the palace of Parvez – full of charm and promise – but accompanied by the tragic axe of Farhad. With every gain, a hidden cost. With every achievement, a looming risk.
Ghar Mein Parvez Ke Shereen To Huwi Jalwa Numa
Le Ke Aayi Hai Magar Taisha-e-Farhad Bhi Saath
(In the palace of Parvez, Shireen surely unveiled her beauty,
But she also brought along Farhad’s destructive axe.)
What, then, is to be done? When the very seeds we once planted — hoping for enlightenment — now bear fruit we are too ashamed to harvest, the answer is not despair, but renewal. It is time to begin again. To replant. To rebuild. To reorient our intellectual efforts with a spiritual compass.
Tukham-e-Deegar Bakaf Aaryem-Wa-Bakariyem Za-Nau
Kancha Kashtiyem Za Khujlat Natawan Kard Drau”
(Let us take a new seed in hand and sow anew,
For what we have sown, we are too ashamed to reap.
This is not merely a poetic reflection; it is a call to action. A call to restore balance between the head and the heart, between modern tools and timeless truths, between knowledge and wisdom. Education, if not guided by revelation, becomes a weapon against the very soul it was meant to elevate.
Let us, then, replant with care – with faith, with ethics, and with purpose. Let our next harvest not be one of regret, but of renewal.
In the backdrop of the above lines, when we observe a new fitnah in the form of social media ramblings among our half-educated religious senators who create one or another controversy every now and then, we see the same challenge amplified by modern social media and AI.
In recent times, a troubling trend has emerged within academic and religious circles: respected scholars of Islamic studies, researchers, and educators have begun to engage with, and at times respond to, the shallow provocations of so-called “Facebook warriors” and sensationalist voices on social media. These posts, often filled with sectarian overtones and personality-driven rhetoric, are neither grounded in sound knowledge nor do they reflect the intellectual rigour that Islamic scholarship demands. More concerning is the fact that many of these voices appear to be amplified by digital ecosystems whose agendas are not only alien but often hostile to the foundational principles of Islam.
The global information space, especially major social media platforms, is neither neutral nor innocent. It is shaped and directed by powerful interests, including Zionist and secular ideologies, whose long-standing objective has been to weaken the intellectual and spiritual foundations of the Muslim world. These platforms are not simply tools for expression; they are carefully engineered spaces where narratives are curated, dissent is managed, and ideological shifts are subtly imposed. Just as these forces have succeeded in co-opting many of our political leaders and monarchs to serve their geopolitical objectives, they now seek to influence the religious class, not through direct confrontation, but through gradual ideological redirection, distraction, and dilution.
As Dr Mahathir Mohamad once aptly said: “They made us fight their war.” We have been drawn into conflicts that are not ours, losing focus on the greater intellectual and spiritual battle — the battle to preserve faith, tradition, and a God-centered worldview in an increasingly materialistic and manipulated global order. Where once the manipulation came through open colonialism or media bias, today it arrives through subtler means: curated search engine results, biased encyclopedias, and most recently, through the widespread integration of artificial intelligence. With every click, swipe, and scroll, our thoughts are being shaped. Our ideas are being filtered. Our worldview is being moulded. We are no longer just passive consumers of information; we are becoming conditioned minds, responding to carefully engineered stimuli, all the while believing we are thinking freely.
Allama Iqbal foresaw this dilemma decades ago when he wrote: “We had hoped that education would bring us peace, but little did we know it would also bring along disbelief.” In a time when academic achievement is often equated with mere certification, and when even scholars chase likes, views, and shares, it becomes imperative to re-centre the purpose of Islamic knowledge. The role of the scholar is not to follow trends but to guide the community with wisdom, insight, and moral clarity. Islamic researchers and educators must re-anchor themselves in the foundational sources of our tradition — the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the legacy of the classical scholars — rather than being swayed by what is momentarily popular on digital platforms. We must cultivate a deep critical awareness of how these platforms operate and resist becoming reactive participants in a spectacle designed to divide and distract.
Artificial Intelligence, though a powerful tool, is not free from ideological bias. It reflects the assumptions, priorities, and values of those who design and train it. If we are not careful, we may find ourselves outsourcing our thinking, slowly surrendering our intellectual sovereignty without even realising it. We must therefore approach these technologies with both awareness and ethics, recognising their utility, but never losing sight of our own worldview, principles, and divine guidance.
This is a moment of reckoning for the Muslim intellectual community. The way forward is not through impulsive social media responses, nor through emotional sectarianism or personality worship. It lies in reviving a tradition of deep scholarship, principled discourse, and spiritual grounding. Our civilisation was not built on hashtags and viral videos, but on the back of rigorous inquiry, humility before revelation, and a deep commitment to truth and justice. Let us not allow ourselves to become pawns in a war designed by others. Let us rise as torchbearers of a noble legacy — one that seeks not applause, but the pleasure of the Creator; not popularity, but purpose. In doing so, we reclaim not just our voice, but our future.
—Dr Hamidullah Marazi (also known as Hamid Naseem Rafiabadi) is a distinguished contemporary Islamic scholar whose work significantly contributes to the dialogue between Islamic philosophy and modern Western thought. He is the author of several books. Through a rigorous comparative methodology and an emphasis on epistemological integrity grounded in Tawhid (the oneness of God), Marazi critiques secular paradigms and advocates for an integrative intellectual tradition. His scholarship not only critiques Western thought but also calls for mutual enrichment between traditions, emphasising Islamic metaphysics, ethics, and educational reform as central to contemporary challenges.