I often write about how modern technology is bad for the Muslim ummah and humanity in general, as well as the possible dystopian futures that await us if we continue on our current trajectory of technological advancement – especially with the advent of technologies like AI, Neuralink, genetic engineering, etc. – and how we need to do everything we can to halt this progress immediately.
One of the critiques I’ve received for being anti-technology is, ‘If modern technology is really so bad, then why don’t you advocate for rewinding the clock all the way back to the hunter-gatherer era, as that seems to be the time with the least amount of technology and when humans were at their most primal and healthiest.’ Well, in this article, I will be attempting to present a nuanced view in relation to this specific objection, in sha’ Allah.
Excessive Technology Is Destroying Humanity
Islam teaches us that excessiveness is bad, and, unfortunately, modern technology is exceedingly excessive, immersing us in a state of over-indulgence when it comes to worldly pleasures. Through becoming addicted to modern entertainment, pornography, artificially produced foods, extravagance, and even excessive comforts and conveniences, Muslims are becoming slow, unhealthy, and dumb.
A consumerist lifestyle of convenient and comfortable technologies is disabling us from resisting worldly desires, and it is making us more prone to committing sins. It is disabling us as an ummah by making us more individualistic and selfish, and it is turning us into weak, enslaved cattle. We’re not resisting the onslaught against Islam and the oppression against Muslims as much as we ought to be, not because we’re too few in number but because we’re just too lazy and apathic, satisfied with living in our own little bubbles. Unfortunately this is the sad reality of the situation.
Modern technology is directly correlated with the rise in atheism, liberalism, feminism, divorce, depression, anxiety, loneliness, dissatisfaction, suicide, hedonism, obesity, diabetes, all kinds of chronic illnesses, and plummeting birth rates. It creates and exacerbates fitnah. It is an undeniable reality that it has made us sicker physically, mentally, and spiritually. It is an unnatural disease that has been unleashed upon mankind.
To say that modern technology has not radically transformed mankind and societies for the worse is to be in a state of denial regarding the truth that is clear to see all around us. To claim that a future without more and more technological advancement would be far worse than what we see today is absolutely absurd.
The Difference Between Carts and Cars
When I speak of the dangers of technology, it is in light of the modern dystopia described above, which was birthed by modern technology. Not all technology is evil, of course, as technology is simply the practical application of science or a way to solve complex real-world problems. For instance, the wheel is a piece of technology, as it is an invention that facilitates the easier transportation of goods and people.
Is the ‘wheel’ a bad piece of technology because it makes people lazier and prevents them from staying healthy by walking long distances? The answer is no. Carts served a very important role in society. They enabled people to transport heavy loads that they would physically be unable to carry otherwise. They were used to help people travel very long distances that would otherwise be extremely burdensome and prolonged. Why then, is it that carts are okay but cars are bad, especially when they both serve similar purposes?
Well, that’s because when it comes to cars, the harms far outweigh the benefits. We had discussed the various cons in detail in an earlier article, but to provide you with a brief summary: they’ve drastically reduced the need to walk, facilitated a sedentary lifestyle, and, together with their accompanying road infrastructure, have greatly contributed to air pollution, noise pollution, unpleasant aesthetics, rise in stress levels due to traffic congestion, gruesome accidents, etc., and they have contributed to chronic lung illnesses and obesity.
Horse and donkey-carts, while serving the same purpose, don’t come with these drastic downsides. Are cars faster? Yes. Would we be better off without them? Also, yes. The cost of a form of technology should not outweigh the usefulness and convenience it brings to society. Unfortunately, the true extent of such costs is only fully understood many years or decades after the mass-integration of the technology into society.
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The Difference Between Letters and the Internet
Let’s take another example to further illustrate this balance. In the past, letters served the purpose of communicating over long distances with the help of human or, sometimes, animal messengers. One could argue that, for the most part, the Internet serves pretty much the same purpose, only much, much faster. But once again, the cons far outweigh the pros. In fact, there is such a long list of the downsides of the Internet, and they are so well-known that I probably don’t even need to mention them here. If I were to do so, a entire article could be written just on online pornography, which is just one of the many, many negative components of the Internet.
However, rather than focusing on the major pitfalls of the Internet, we tend to disproportionately pay attention to the benefits – ‘it is amazing, miraculous, faster, better.’ We’ve been conditioned through modern education to support this hyper-acceleration in making the world ‘better’ by making things more and more convenient, comfortable, and fast, without being taught to be skeptical of the consequences of such rapid progress. We’ve been conditioned to think that, through technology, we’re making the world a ‘better’ place. In actuality, however, it is way worse than it used to be, and it is going to get much worse if we don’t stop.
Should We Become Cavemen?
The call for the complete abandonment of all forms of technology is the opposite extreme. Let’s use the extreme example of cavemen, i.e., those who believe in absolutely ZERO technology.
This is a society that won’t even use fire, because that too is a technology. This kind of extremism will leave them vulnerable to wild animals, deprive them of warmth in cold weather, and lead to contracting all kinds of illnesses from bacteria in raw meat, chicken, etc. They don’t craft any kinds of sharp weapons, leaving them defenceless against attacks from other enemies and animals. They don’t wrap their wounds, which leads to festering infections. They don’t brush their teeth or observe proper hygiene. They don’t even wear clothes, shamelessly running around naked all day. Without basic technology, humans become no more than animals.
Allah Created man as the best of creation, and one of the faculties we were granted is our intelligence, through which we use the natural resources Allah has provided us with, in order to survive, thrive, and build houses, towns, cities, armies, and societies. All of this is technology, yet none of it is evil or bad, because it serves its purpose without going into excess towards either extreme.
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Technology at the Time of Prophet Adam (Peace Be Upon Him)
Is it possible that cavemen never existed to begin with, at least in the way that we might think of them? I mean, evolution itself is a dead theory at this point but what about cave dwelling, mini-cloth wearing hunter gatherers? Did they exist? We at least know for sure that they weren’t present at the start of humanity.
Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was sent down to Earth with the knowledge and skills for how to utilize these natural resources. This is something we know clearly from the story of his two sons, Habil and Qabil, where Qabil desired the girl who was supposed to be wed to Habil. To settle the dispute, both offered sacrifices to Allah, with Habil’s being accepted, resulting in Qabil subsequently murdering his own brother.
Interestingly, the sacrifices that were brought forth consisted of cattle and agricultural produce, both of which would not have been possible if this first society on Earth wasn’t aware of and actively engaged in farming and agriculture. And subsequent societies likely followed this first society, and that’s where the knowledge of farming, agriculture, town-building, etc., comes from – in other words, knowledge of how to use technology.
I find it hard to believe that things like cave paintings are a solid proof of cave-dwelling societies. If future civilizations saw graffiti in old tunnels, would it be correct for them to assume that people in 2025 were tunnel-dwellers? Although, it could be possible that somewhere down the line, perhaps due to some sort of calamity, that chain of technological knowledge was lost or interrupted for a while among certain specific peoples, resulting in some societies that had no clue about how to farm or build towns.
But that still doesn’t take away from the fact that a good indication of what the right amount of technology is can be traced all the way back to the first civilization of humans, at the time of Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). And then, perhaps even before our time, technology had progressed to a point where it became a source of immense fitnah. Maybe Allah destroyed those past arrogant nations, leaving no trace of them behind. Perhaps those civilizations were even more advanced than we are today, and who knows, maybe they built monuments like the pyramids, and Allah left them as a reminder for us to not follow in their footsteps.
Technology continued to progress gradually to the time of the Prophet ﷺ, and that level of technology is great too because he ﷺ never condemned it. But even in such a technologically simple time, he continuously warned against excessiveness and extravagance and encouraged simplicity. So what do you think is the status of modern technologies that create and increase fitnah?
Using Allah’s Nature via Technology; or Replacing It?
Technology is a gift and a great blessing from Allah, because it is a means through which He has allowed us to access and derive benefit from the natural resources that He Has Provided us.
And as for cattle [of every kind], He [alone] has created them for you. In them are [means of] warmth [for you], and numerous [other] benefits. From them, also, you eat, while in them, you find [glorious] beauty when you drive them home [in the evening] to rest and when you lead them out [in the morning] to pasture. Moreover, they carry your heavy loads to lands you would never have [otherwise] reached — except with much distress to yourselves. Indeed, your Lord is all-kind, mercy-giving. Horses, mules, and donkeys [He created], as well, that you may ride them and as [worldly] adornment [for you]. And, [indeed,] He [alone] creates that [of] which you do not know. Thus it is for Allah, [your Creator,] to set the straight path [for His seekers]; for some [paths] are aberrant. Yet had He so willed, He would, most surely, have guided all of you, [without choice — just as] He [alone] is the One who sends down, from the sky, water for you, from which there is [a] drink [you require,] and from which plants grow, wherein you [must] pasture [your herds]. Thereby, He [alone] causes to grow for you all [types of] crops — and olive [trees] and date palms and grapevines and fruits of every kind. Indeed, in [all of] this there is a sure sign for a people who would reflect [on the diversity of creation and the Oneness of the Creator]. (Qur’an, 16:5–11)
Think about how grateful we should be. What if we had been provided only with nature but endowed with no knowledge or intelligence regarding how to use them? Technology and the faculty and ability to use it are blessings that allow us to make use of blessings.
However, we must also remember that we are transient creatures in this world, and that one day our bodies will expire and we will return to our Lord, and that He sent us the Prophet ﷺ and gave us the Qur’an to remind us that this life is only temporary enjoyment and to warn us to not become too deeply immersed within it.
So, when we go to the extreme of developing technology, using it to make the life of this world as comfortable and as convenient as possible, it is only to our own detriment, both in this life and the next.
And we are at the point where technological advancement is no longer trying to play the role of deriving benefit from the resources that Allah gave us. It is actively trying to replace it, with transhumanist elites now trying to impose a system that they believe is better than what Allah has given us. This is extremely dangerous, and it is exactly the kind of arrogance that led to the destruction of certain past nations. Technology is no longer being used as a tool to be grateful. It is being used to be ungrateful, arrogant, and rebellious.
As Muslims, we should neither advocate to become cavemen nor cyborgs. We should adopt a middle path in-between, weighing the pros and cons of the decisions we make and the direction we take as an ummah, while also avoiding the impermissible, because that is the Islamic way to do things.
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