Human-AI Interaction in the Metaverse: A Maqasid al-Shariah Conceptual Framework for Autonomous Agents, Virtual Governance, and Moral Education

Abstract

The rapid convergence of artificial intelligence and immersive virtual environments has given rise to the Metaverse, a persistent digital space in which autonomous AI agents increasingly mediate human social, economic, and educational interaction. Existing Islamic legal scholarship has examined the legal capacity of AI and has proposed maqasid-based governance for Islamic finance and for national regulation, but it has not yet shown how the legal status of autonomous agents, governance in a space without a single jurisdiction, and moral education in immersive settings depend on one another. This study addresses that gap by asking how maqasid al-Shariah and the classical doctrine of legal capacity (al-ahliyyah) can ground a conceptual framework for autonomous agents, virtual governance, and moral education in the Metaverse. Using a qualitative library research method, the study analyzes classical fiqh concepts alongside contemporary Islamic legal scholarship on artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital ethics, and situates them within the secular literature on metaverse governance and virtual moral education. The study advances three conceptual propositions. First, autonomous AI agents cannot bear full legal or moral responsibility (taklif) because they lack the volition and consciousness required by Islamic legal theory, yet a bounded, functional capacity can be recognized for practical governance purposes, with liability ultimately resting with human developers, operators, and institutions. Second, the five maqasid can be mapped onto the governance gaps documented in secular metaverse scholarship to yield a jurisdiction-independent review checklist. Third, immersive moral education is compatible with tarbiyah only when its design is governed by explicit safeguards. The main contribution of this study is an integrated, maqasid-based framework that links these three areas, which have so far been examined separately. The findings are conceptual and normative rather than empirically tested, and they carry practical implications for Islamic financial and educational institutions designing metaverse platforms and AI agents intended for Muslim users.