COMPANION ROBOTS, DIGITAL INTIMACY AND THE PURPOSES OF MARRIAGE IN ISLAMIC LEGAL PHILOSOPHY

Abstract

The rise of advanced artificial-intimacy devices is not merely a moral concern but also a potential existential threat to the foundational structure of Islamic marriage (nikāḥ). While Islamic legal reasoning may prohibit their use, such a legal response remains inadequate because it does not address the deeper underlying problem. The true crisis is the robot’s function as a technological replacement, a concept termed in this study “Digital Substitution” (). The apparent perfection of the machine threatens to replace the human effort and responsibility from which marriage derives much of its spiritual strength. By demanding little or no relational effort, the robot erodes the human capacity to cultivate essential virtues such as mercy (raḥmah) and patience (ṣabr). Furthermore, the common legal argument that permits the use of such robots as a lesser harm in situations of necessity (ḍarūrah) is critically examined. This study argues that such reasoning constitutes a misdiagnosis because it overlooks the broader systemic harm involved. A comprehensive response is therefore necessary, grounded in the preventive doctrine of sadd al-dharāʾiʿ (blocking the means to harm). This approach requires Muslim states to impose a complete ban on the manufacture and sale of such devices through the authority of siyāsah sharʿiyyah (Islamic public policy). Alongside this prohibition, the Muslim community must initiate an educational movement that restores an appreciation of human struggle and imperfection, thereby protecting the spiritual integrity of the Muslim family from technology’s illusory promises of effortless intimacy.