Engineering Ethics, Risk, and Islamic Values in Contemporary Technologies

Debates in science and engineering ethics increasingly focus on how professionals should act under conditions of uncertainty, especially when essential technologies may pose low-probability but non-negligible risks to human health or the environment. A normative framework for engineering decision-making is developed, grounded in Islamic ethical concepts, and applied to four contemporary technological domains: electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure from high-voltage power infrastructure, radiofrequency (RF) exposure from mobile phones, water use in hydrogen fuel production, and hazardous waste from end-of-life solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. Drawing on the Qur’an and Hadith literature, as well as contemporary discussions of the higher objectives of Islamic law and professional engineering codes, the moral significance of public interest, harm prevention, stewardship, justice, and trusteeship is elaborated. The analysis shows how these values support precautionary yet innovation-friendly responses to uncertain risk, emphasizing transparency, distributional fairness, long-term environmental responsibility, and accountability to affected communities. By articulating points of convergence and complementarity between Islamic ethics and mainstream engineering ethics, a faith-informed framework is contributed that can guide engineers working in Muslim-majority contexts and in culturally diverse societies toward more responsible design, regulation, and deployment of emerging technologies. Read through the lens of the five ethical principles articulated in this framework—harm prevention, public interest, stewardship, justice, and trusteeship—the hadith metaphor emphasizes that ethical engineering consists of small but responsible actions taken with awareness of risk, care for others, and accountability to both present and future generations.