ChatHPT Muhammadiyah: AI Assistant for Islamic Legal Rulings
Discover ChatHPT, the new AI assistant launched by Muhammadiyah to provide accurate, verified access to Islamic legal rulings and fatwas in Indonesia.
Portal Islam 
This article was first published in Indonesian. Baca versi Bahasa Indonesia →
Pimpinan Pusat (PP) Muhammadiyah (Muhammadiyah's Central Executive Board, one of Indonesia's largest Islamic organizations) has officially introduced a groundbreaking technological innovation: an artificial intelligence (AI) tarjih assistant named ChatHPT. This service has been specifically developed to make it easier for the wider public and members of the organization to search through tarjih decisions, official fatwas, and the heritage of Islamic legal scholarship quickly, practically, and with verified authenticity.
Based on reports compiled from DetikHikmah and the official media outlet Muhammadiyah.or.id on Friday, November 6, 2026, this artificial intelligence platform is the result of a strategic synergy and collaboration between the Tarjih and Tajdid Council of PP Muhammadiyah, the Library and Information Council (MPI) of PP Muhammadiyah, and LabMu. The introduction of this innovation aims to answer the challenges of the digital era by providing a reliable and authentic channel for religious legal references that can be accessed at any time.
Easy Access to Scholarly Heritage and Tarjih Fatwas
The ChatHPT service is now publicly accessible through the official portal hpt.muhammadiyah.or.id as well as the versatile MASA application. As quoted by DetikHikmah, this artificial intelligence innovation was initiated by prominent data practitioner and Deputy Chairman of the MPI PP Muhammadiyah, Ismail Fahmi, Ph.D. The founder of Drone Emprit designed ChatHPT to bridge the gap between documents and the heritage of Muhammadiyah tarjih decisions and fatwas—which have been compiled over more than a century—so that they can be easily reached by today's younger generation.
Up until now, preachers, academics, and the general public have often faced technical obstacles when seeking legal certainty regarding acts of worship or social dealings (muamalah). This is because official Muhammadiyah documents are scattered across thousands of physical pages, such as in the Collection of Tarjih Decisions (Himpunan Putusan Tarjih or HPT) books, Religious Question and Answer (Tanya Jawab Agama or TJA) books, and fatwa columns in Suara Muhammadiyah magazine. This modernization step is aligned with the news that Muhammadiyah has launched ChatHPT to make it easier for the ummah to access fatwas widely.
A Solution to the Risks of General Generative AI Hallucinations
Using general generative AI models such as ChatGPT or Gemini for religious sharia matters carries quite a high risk. According to the DetikHikmah report, general generative AI frequently experiences "hallucinations" or invents invalid arguments and hadith chains of narration (sanad). This happens because general artificial intelligence systems do not understand the methodology (manhaj) of tarjih adhered to by Muhammadiyah.
To overcome this fundamental challenge, ChatHPT Muhammadiyah applies a very strict source restriction system. Based on official guidelines as of November 2026, the knowledge base of the ChatHPT system is built exclusively from 1,153 verified official texts.
Technically, the system adopts Andrej Karpathy's expert wiki three-layer Large Language Model (LLM) architecture, which connects directly to a knowledge graph. Users can even utilize a 3D visualization feature to see how a fatwa decision directly connects to the verses of the Qur'an or authentic hadiths that serve as its legal basis. Strengthening ethics in the utilization of this technology aligns with discussions regarding the role of Islam in shaping digital ethics in the modern information technology era.
Message and Support from the General Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah
Full support for the use of this technology was directly expressed by the General Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir. As cited from a Muhammadiyah.or.id report, Haedar Nashir invited all leaders and members of Muhammadiyah to become familiar with and actively use ChatHPT in their daily lives.
Haedar delivered this statement on Thursday, November 5, 2026, after opening the Muhammadiyah Tarjih National Consultative Meeting (Munas) held at Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya (Universitas Muhammadiyah Surabaya, a Muhammadiyah higher education institution in East Java). On that occasion, Haedar conveyed his official directive:
“Therefore, later on, all members and leaders should become familiar with ChatHPT, so that they do not make mistakes in religious matters or in practicing and implementing religious teachings, ensuring they always return to the Qur'an, the Sunnah, and ijtihad,”
Haedar Nashir, General Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah
Before giving his response, Haedar Nashir briefly tried out ChatHPT firsthand. In his assessment, the platform is extremely convenient because it presents complete and detailed data, ranging from summary contents and conclusions to references for the original text sources. Haedar also expressed high appreciation to the Tarjih and Tajdid Council, LabMu, and the system developers for this innovative work.
“This is extraordinary work done by Tarjih and it will be able to spread widely in society. We just need to keep productively compiling various issues and materials that fall within the domain of the Tarjih and Tajdid Council. Thank you to the programmers who built all of this; this is ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah),”
Haedar Nashir, General Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah
Haedar added that the presence of this technology provides real convenience for the ummah who wish to know Islamic legal decisions, as he stated:
“So now it is increasingly easy if you want to know decisions, fatwas, up to matters that become agendas and religious issues under the Tarjih and Tajdid Council,”
Haedar Nashir, General Chairman of PP Muhammadiyah
Scholarly Ethics and Practical Features for Preachers
According to the DetikHikmah report, Ismail Fahmi emphasized that the operation of ChatHPT Muhammadiyah is framed by six strict pillars of scholarly ethics. The foremost pillar emphasizes that this AI positions itself solely as a reference-finding librarian assistant, and not as a mufti authorized to issue new legal rulings.
If a religious matter has never been decided upon by the Tarjih Council, the ChatHPT system will honestly state that there is no official decision yet, rather than inventing its own answers. Every answer displayed always includes a reference in the form of an active link directing users to the original document text.
For preachers, educators, and mubalig, the ChatHPT platform is equipped with an excellent "Format as" feature. This feature allows users to automatically convert fatwa references into various delivery formats, including:
- Draft Friday sermon materials
- Popular religious articles
- Social media content summaries
- Thematic pocket books
This digital transformation constitutes an important part of the shift of times, as frequently discussed in the discourse on the digital economy revolution: opportunities and challenges in the technology era, which demands rapid adaptation across various sectors of life.
Islamic Perspective: Utilizing Technology for the Benefit of the Ummah
The step taken by Muhammadiyah through the launch of ChatHPT reflects a moderate (wasatiyyah) and progressive attitude in responding to the developments of the times. Artificial intelligence technology is viewed not as a replacement for scholarly expertise, but as a tool (wasilah) to broaden the understanding of the pure and accountable message of Islam.
By strictly maintaining scholarly ethical boundaries and connectivity to primary sources, the utilization of this artificial intelligence is expected to strengthen the community's critical literacy culture, while ensuring that the ummah continues to hold firmly to the guidance of the Qur'an and authentic Sunnah in the digital age.
