This interview was originally conducted in Arabic. The following is an English translation of the transcript.

Dr. Eng. Ali Al-Mur is one of the founding members of the Jordanian Society for the Scientific Miraculousness of the Qur’an and Sunnah. He currently serves as its vice president and is a specialist and expert in nuclear energy. We warmly welcome Dr. Ali Al-Mur. In the name of Allah. Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Praise be to Allah who has brought us together around this table of Islamic knowledge, religious sciences, and the sciences of the Qur’an. This knowledge is moving the world today. There is a small group of believers carrying this religion, while others seek to extinguish this light so that it does not spread throughout the world, because when the light spreads, humanity awakens. Praise be to Allah that a believing group, even if small in number, has been able, by the will of Allah and through its commitment to religion, to move the world. We ask Allah Almighty to grant them victory and to illuminate the world through them and through your knowledge. I thank you for attending. Consider that I have personally greeted every one of you. Welcome to our Society. Around 1976, we began researching the miraculous aspects of the sciences of the Qur’an. At that time I came across a book by the late Dr. Mustafa Mahmoud entitled The Qur’an: An Attempt at a Contemporary Understanding. That book was one of the things that caused a major change within me and directed me toward this vast area of study. This field of research has no end. Even if humankind and jinn continued to study the Qur’an from the beginning of creation until the end of time, they would never exhaust what it contains. Every day we read the Qur’an and discover something new. This is one of the secrets of what is called the scientific miraculousness of the Qur’an. The Qur’an addresses every human mind, from the child to the scientist of space and the atom, each according to their level of understanding. It addresses women and men, girls and young people. It addresses you today and it addresses those who will come tomorrow. It is truly a miraculous Book. By the grace of Allah, our brother Engineer Hatem was inspired with the idea of establishing this Society. I was honored to join it from its beginning, as one of its founding members, and I currently serve as vice president. I originally delivered this lecture about ten years ago during a science day at a school. When I returned to it during the past few days, I found that I needed to change almost nothing except some linguistic wording, because much of what we were anticipating ten years ago has now become reality. I would like those attending to write down the main sections of the lecture so that you can follow where we are. We have an introduction and definitions, artificial intelligence in the Prophetic Hadith, the views of scholars past and present, religious supporting evidence, material scientific evidence, and finally the conclusion. It is also important that we preserve the noble Sunnah and the classical works of Qur’anic interpretation. We should not attack earlier scholars merely because some of what they wrote centuries ago may today require further explanation or a different level of understanding. It is natural that some interpretations develop as human knowledge develops, but the works of those scholars contain an enormous intellectual treasure and great openings in the religious sciences. Let us begin with the definition of artificial intelligence. There are many definitions, but I summarize it as the ability demonstrated by a machine or machines to perform a task in the way a human being wants it to be performed. A machine may have limited ability or great ability. It may surpass a human being in speed, in collecting data, and in producing results, while ultimately remaining something created by human beings. Artificial intelligence has also been described as the science and engineering of creating intelligent machines and as the development of artificial neural networks that imitate the operation of the human brain. Once again, we find ourselves returning to something that Allah created while human beings attempt to imitate it. Among these capabilities are learning, inference, reaction, examining the environment, taking actions that improve the probability of success, reaching information at extraordinary speed, recognizing images and faces, understanding speech, instant translation, reading signs and texts, browsing books, and summarizing them. An intelligent system may, for example, capture an image of a person in the street and identify them, or listen to a conversation in Arabic and immediately translate it into another language. Yet alongside the benefits there are frightening aspects that require attention. One of them is the violation of privacy. Technologies may eventually be embedded in clothing, devices, or chips capable of monitoring, recording, and transmitting information without a person being aware of it. There are also concerns that systems may develop to the point where they redesign themselves or contribute to the production of other systems in ways that become increasingly difficult to control. Today it has also become possible to create artificial images and voices that appear real, causing people to be deceived. Artificial intelligence therefore has both positive and negative aspects. We must be aware of them and work to direct these technologies toward serving people, our religion, and our societies instead of leaving others alone to determine their direction. We now move to the scientific miraculousness of the Prophetic Hadith. Within the noble Sunnah are hadiths containing meanings that were not familiar during the time of the Prophet or the early Islamic centuries, or which speak about future events whose form was not known to people at that time. The noble Companions received these reports from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, believed them, narrated them, and Muslims transmitted them generation after generation. Some meanings may remain behind the veils of the unseen for a very long time. Then, as scientific methods develop and humanity discovers new phenomena in matter and life, people may begin to see things that appear consistent with some of those texts. In this lecture we examine the hadith: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not come until wild beasts speak to human beings, until the lash of a man’s whip and the strap of his sandal speak to him, and his thigh informs him of what his family did after he left.” A person hearing such words centuries ago might naturally have wondered: How could the strap of a sandal speak? How could a whip speak? How could a person’s thigh tell him what happened after he left? Yet with the passage of time and the development of technology, some of these images have become easier to conceive. The hadith contains three matters that were extraordinary in the context of the Prophet’s time: animals speaking, inanimate objects speaking, and living matter communicating with a human being in a precise manner. The question of animals speaking deserves a separate lecture and perhaps should be addressed by a specialist in animal behavior. Here we will focus on inanimate matter and living matter. Scholarly attitudes toward such hadiths can be divided into several approaches. Some scholars accepted them as they were reported, were convinced that their meanings would become clearer with time, and encouraged the use of reason and research to understand them and benefit from them as signs of Prophethood. This is the approach I believe to be correct. If I encounter something in the Qur’an or Sunnah that I do not understand, I say that I do not yet understand it. I do not reject the text simply because my own mind has not reached its meaning. Others were unable to accept certain reports and therefore rejected or doubted them, sometimes accusing earlier generations of ignorance or superstition, as has occurred in discussions of certain texts such as the hadith concerning the fly. A third group believed the reports but discouraged investigating their meanings. I believe this is inconsistent with a genuine methodology of research and reflection. The general principle is that human beings should investigate, contemplate, and think, except in matters that Allah has explicitly placed beyond our ability to know. Another approach held that some of these events will occur only near the end of time when certain familiar patterns of the universe change, and that Allah, who causes all things to speak, will cause them to speak then. According to this view, these matters lie outside present human understanding. A further approach attempts to interpret the hadiths in light of contemporary scientific knowledge. Here we must be cautious. If someone categorically declares that a hadith refers to one specific invention and science later develops in another direction, that interpretation may prove mistaken. We should therefore say that a modern technology may represent one possible way of understanding the text, without claiming that it is necessarily its final meaning. Some researchers, for example, have suggested that such descriptions may relate to communication, recording, or surveillance devices, or that science may one day discover that materials are capable of storing information which can later be extracted. The late Sheikh Ibn Baz also discussed the possibility that something might be placed in a whip, stick, or similar object that could preserve the speech of family members and convey information, in a manner resembling recording devices. We now turn to supporting evidence from the Qur’an. Allah says concerning the heaven and the earth: “Then He said to it and to the earth: Come willingly or unwillingly. They said: We come willingly.” This establishes the possibility of creation being addressed and responding. Allah also says: “There is no creature on the earth nor bird that flies with its wings except that they are communities like you.” These creatures form communities and possess patterns of communication and interaction. Allah says: “The seven heavens, the earth, and all those within them glorify Him. There is not a thing except that it glorifies Him with praise, but you do not understand their glorification.” Everything glorifies Allah, even though we do not comprehend that glorification. From the perspective of my own specialization in nuclear engineering, we previously spoke about atoms as the fundamental units composing matter. Modern physics also contains theories that speak of strings, vibration, and energy. Movement and vibration invite us to reflect on the nature of the universe and the order within it. Allah says: “By the heaven and the night visitor. And what will make you know what the night visitor is? The piercing star.” Modern science has discovered pulsating stars that emit repeated patterns of signals. There are also scientific discussions about waves, sound, their propagation, and how they weaken over time, and whether extremely sensitive future technologies might be capable of detecting traces of them. Allah says concerning David: “O mountains, echo Allah’s praises with him, and the birds as well.” We should not read such verses as if they were merely passing stories. We should reflect upon them. In the story of Solomon: “An ant said: O ants, enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you without realizing it.” This points to communication within the world of ants. Modern science indeed investigates communication among insects and many other creatures. Likewise, the hoopoe said to Solomon: “I have comprehended that which you have not comprehended, and I have come to you from Sheba with certain news.” And concerning the end of time: “When the decree comes to pass against them, We will bring forth for them a creature from the earth that will speak to them.” The Qur’an also describes the skins testifying on the Day of Judgment: “They will say to their skins: Why did you testify against us? They will say: Allah, who causes all things to speak, has caused us to speak.” All these texts invite us to reflect on the concepts of speech, communication, and awareness within the worlds of matter and living beings. Modern science has begun to reveal more aspects of the universe and matter, and these discoveries should lead us toward deeper research rather than arrogance. We now come to accounts in the Sunnah and the Prophetic biography. In the hadith of Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him, a woman from the Ansar asked the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, whether she should have something made for him to sit upon, because she had a servant who was a carpenter. A pulpit was made for him. When the Prophet began using the pulpit, the palm trunk beside which he had previously delivered sermons cried out. The Prophet came down, embraced it, and it became quiet. What matters is that we should not read such a report superficially. We should reflect on its meaning and implications. There are also narrations concerning pebbles glorifying Allah in the hand of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and then in the hands of Abu Bakr, Umar, and Uthman, may Allah be pleased with them. The Companions also narrated hearing food glorify Allah and witnessing water flow from between the fingers of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on certain occasions. Such texts should increase a person in faith and encourage research and contemplation. This brings me to the subject of reading and knowledge. The first word revealed in the Qur’an was: “Read.” Yet we have become a community in which reading has greatly declined. I have mentioned commonly circulated figures describing large differences between reading rates in Arab societies and certain other societies. Regardless of the exact accuracy of every statistic, the problem itself is clear: we need reading, education, and research. Why was the first command “Read”? Because knowledge is the foundation of advancement. We cannot progress through emotion alone. We need reading, learning, research, laboratories, and experimentation. We then come to the story of the wolf. The narrations tell of a wolf that seized a sheep from a shepherd. The shepherd recovered the sheep from it, whereupon the wolf sat back and spoke to the man. The shepherd was astonished that a wolf could speak in human language. The wolf then told him, in meaning: Shall I tell you something even more astonishing? Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, is in Yathrib telling people about events that have passed. The shepherd went to Medina and informed the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him. The Prophet ordered that people be called together, and the shepherd was asked to tell them what had happened. The Prophet then said: “By the One in whose hand is my soul, the Hour will not come until wild beasts speak to human beings, until the lash of a man’s whip and the strap of his sandal speak to him, and his thigh informs him of what his family did after he left.” When we read this hadith today in light of modern technologies, the image has become far easier to conceive than it would have been centuries ago. To me, these texts are not merely material to be read. They are also an invitation to scientific research. Physicists, engineers, physicians, researchers, and others should carry the Qur’an and Sunnah in their minds while conducting research—not in the sense of forcing predetermined conclusions upon science, but in the sense of allowing these texts to inspire reflection, questions, and investigation. We now come to material scientific evidence. If we speak of an object communicating with a human being, then we are discussing communication technologies. These technologies have undergone extraordinary development during the past century and more. In the first stage, there were vacuum tubes: relatively large glass devices containing electrical elements used to control the flow of current. Electronic equipment was extremely large. One example is the famous early computer ENIAC, which occupied an enormous amount of space, weighed tens of tons, and used thousands of electronic vacuum tubes and electrical connections. Then came the second stage with the discovery and development of semiconductors, silicon, and the transistor. Functions that once required huge devices could now be performed by extremely small components. Integrated circuits and electronic chips continued to develop until we reached mobile phones and compact devices containing millions or billions of electronic elements. The result is that a device that once required an entire room can now fit in a hand, then in a watch, then in clothing, and potentially in even smaller objects. This brings us back to the suggestions of scholars who said that something might one day be placed in the head of a stick, in a whip, or in the strap of a sandal and be capable of conveying information. From a technological perspective, such an idea has become entirely possible. One example is what became known as the Google Talking Shoe, which was displayed in Austin, Texas. It was a smart athletic shoe capable of speaking to the person wearing it and motivating them during exercise. Such a device can contain pressure, movement, or direction sensors, an Internet or Bluetooth connection, and a speaker. If the user stops moving, for example, the shoe may encourage them to continue. It may also convey information and alerts. We may therefore ask: Is this not remarkably close to the idea of a person being spoken to by the strap of his sandal? I am not saying that the hadith is limited to this particular application or that this is necessarily its final interpretation. I am saying only that something which would have appeared impossible to people centuries ago now falls within the limits of known technology. As for the phrase: “His thigh informs him of what his family did after he left,” we now see extensive developments in electronic chips, implantable devices, and wearable technology. There are medical chips and devices that monitor the healing of fractures, observe bodily functions, assist in treatments, or transmit information from the human body to other systems. There is also research into devices connected to the nervous system and spinal cord, as well as wearable and implantable technologies that monitor the condition of the human body. Technologies sometimes described as electronic skin or electronic tattoos have also emerged. These are extremely thin materials and devices placed on the skin that can measure biological signals or transmit information. As such technologies become smaller and smaller, it is possible to imagine devices that are barely visible and yet capable of transmitting enormous quantities of data. At the same time, we must remain aware of the danger. If such technologies are misused, they may become instruments of surveillance, tracking, violations of privacy, or even attempts to influence human behavior. We therefore face an enormous scientific field containing great potential for good when used properly and great potential for harm when misused. The conclusion I reach is that the technological developments we see today have made certain meanings mentioned in the Prophetic Hadith easier to understand in a tangible and technological sense than they were in earlier centuries. Research and development continue. It is not difficult to imagine a future in which chips, devices, or extremely thin materials are placed on the skin, in clothing, or within parts of the human body and provide a person with information about themselves or their surroundings in ways that earlier generations could hardly imagine. The point, therefore, is not merely to admire technology. We should use it to increase knowledge, research, faith, and beneficial action. May Allah bless you. Among the sources in which the hadith and related narrations have been cited or examined are Al-Mustadrak by Al-Hakim, Sahih Ibn Hibban, Al-Musannaf by Ibn Abi Shaybah, Dala’il al-Nubuwwah by Al-Bayhaqi, and Al-Bidayah wa al-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir. Peace and the mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you. May Allah bless the Jordanian Society for the Scientific Miraculousness of the Qur’an and Sunnah.