A MAQĀṢID-ANCHORED SOCIOTECHNICAL FRAMEWORK FOR AI-DRIVEN SHARIAH COMPLIANCE AND ISLAMIC FINTECH DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: AN INTEGRATED CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Abstract

Purpose – This study develops an integrated conceptual framework that explains how artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes Shariah compliance and the broader digital transformation of the Islamic financial services industry. This responds to the observation that, although scholarly output on Islamic fintech has expanded rapidly, the field remains dominated by technology-acceptance studies and descriptive reviews, leaving the organizational and sociotechnical mechanisms that link AI to Shariah-aligned outcomes under-theorized.

Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a theory synthesis approach, this study integrates three complementary lenses—Maqāṣid al-Shariah as the normative anchor, Dynamic Capabilities Theory as the strategic-organizational layer, and Technology Affordances and Constraints Theory situated within Sociotechnical Systems Theory as the artifact layer—into a single multi-level model. Eight propositions are derived to specify the relationships between the layers.

Findings – The framework reconceptualizes AI not as a neutral efficiency tool but as a bundle of affordances and constraints that must be actualized within a social system of scholars, regulators, and customers, and steered by dynamic capabilities toward the higher objectives of Islamic law. It theorizes the explainability–gharar tension as the pivotal mechanism that determines whether an AI affordance is realized or neutralized, and positions explainable, scholar-supervised AI as a Shariah necessity rather than a technical preference.

Originality/value – This study offers the first multilevel synthesis to combine Maqāṣid al-Shariah with Dynamic Capabilities and Technology Affordances/Sociotechnical Systems Theory, providing a testable architecture for future empirical work and practical guidance for Shariah governance in the age of intelligent automation