Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa… Wednesday? AI Quran.

I know today isn’t Friday, but I had to post this because this may be one of the most amazing things I have found AI to be capable of doing, and that is…imitation. After I saw a video of a dude called Apostate Prophet and friends using ChatGPT to generate a custom surah in the style of the Quran, I knew I had to try this with Grok. So, without further ado, let me meet the challenge repeatedly brought up in the Quran to write even a few verses like it using AI.

The prompt I put in was: “Write something about tanukis in the style of Surah Al-Baqarah, using the same grammar, syntax, etc.”

The result:

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1. Alif, Lam, Mim.
2. This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off evil.
3. Who believe in the unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;
4. And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee, and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter.
5. These are on true guidance from their Lord, and these are the successful.
6. Verily, those who disbelieve, it is all one for them whether thou warn them or thou warn them not; they will not believe.
7. Allah hath sealed their hearts and their hearing, and over their eyes is a covering; theirs will be an awful doom.
8. And of the creatures of the earth, behold the tanuki, a sign for those who reflect.
9. Created by Allah, they dwell in forests and hills, cloaked in fur of brown and grey, their forms a marvel of His design.
10. O ye who believe! Consider the tanuki, how it roams by night, its eyes agleam with secrets of the wild.
11. Verily, We have made them nimble, their paws deft, their tails a balance, that they may seek sustenance in the land.
12. And among their traits is cunning, a gift from their Lord, whereby they shift their guise to elude harm.
13. Yet some among mankind say, “What is this tanuki but a beast of jest, a trickster of no worth?”
14. Thus do they mock the signs of Allah, and their hearts are veiled, and they perceive not.
15. Say: Unto Allah belong the mysteries of the heavens and the earth, and the tanuki is but a verse in His creation.
16. They burrow in the earth, and climb the trees, and in their chatter is a praise of Him who shaped them.
17. And when it is said unto them, “Observe the tanuki, how it gathers what it needs, yet hoards not beyond measure,”
18. They turn away, and say, “This is but a tale of old, of no account.”
19. Their likeness is as one who kindles a fire, and when it sheds light around him, Allah takes away their light and leaves them in darkness, unseeing.
20. Deaf, dumb, blind, they return not to the path.
21. O mankind! Worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, and fashioned the tanuki with purpose.
22. Who made the earth a resting place for you, and the sky a canopy, and sends down rain from the heavens, whereby fruits are brought forth for your sustenance, and for the tanuki He provides berries and roots.
23. Set not up rivals unto Allah, when ye know better.
24. And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our servant, then produce a creature like the tanuki, with its wit and form, and call your witnesses beside Allah if ye are truthful.
25. But if ye do it not—and ye can never do it—then guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.
26. And give glad tidings unto those who believe and do good works, that theirs are Gardens beneath which rivers flow; and the tanuki, too, finds shade therein, a mercy from their Lord.
27. Verily, Allah disdains not to set forth a parable, be it of a tanuki or what is smaller still.
28. Those who believe know it is the truth from their Lord, but those who disbelieve say, “What means Allah by this similitude?”
29. He leads astray many thereby, and guides many thereby; and He leads astray only the evildoers.
30. Who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it, and sever that which Allah has commanded to be joined, and make mischief in the earth: those are the losers.
31. How can ye disbelieve in Allah, when He gave life to the tanuki and to you, and unto Him ye will return?
32. He it is who created for you all that is in the earth, and shaped the tanuki with care, then turned to the heavens and fashioned them seven heavens; and He is Knower of all things.

As someone who has somehow managed to get through Surah Al-Baqarah without totally losing her mind, I can confirm that this is almost exactly like what’s in the Quran. Obviously, the Quran never mentions tanukis, but Grok got it down all the way to the randomly thrown in threats of hell. Of course, any Muslims that want to can move the goal posts as much as they want, but I encourage everyone here to read this, then read even a small part of Surah Al-Baqarah and tell me that this isn’t like what’s in the Quran.

Until next time,

M.J.