Anas bin Malik narrated that a man said: “O Messenger of Allah! Shall I tie the camel and rely (upon Allah), or leave it loose and rely (upon Allah)?” He said: “Tie it and rely (upon Allah).”
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2517]
The spirit of this hadith has motivated us Muslims to do our part in succeeding in this Dunya, and relying upon Allah, knowing He is All-Knowing and the Only Sustainer. At Darus-Salaam, we harbor this spirit in our hearts at all times, and adapt to what’s new most efficiently and thoughtfully, and this time, this is being done through the thoughtful adoption of artificial intelligence.
Br. Minhaj Hasan, the Director of the Donor Care Office, said that Dar-us-Salaam is still in the early stages of adopting AI, that we are still learning, experimenting, and growing along the way. He emphasizes that the organization remains committed to staying current with the tools of this world in order to better fulfill its mission for the next.
Where We Are: An Honest Look at our AI Journey
Rather than rushing in or ignoring ‘AI’ altogether, we are doing what we have always tried to do: proceed with intention, and with our community’s best interests at heart.
AI is now being used across many areas of our organization, by teachers, our finance team, front office staff, donor care, and our creative and communications teams. Each department is finding its own footing, exploring what works, and sharing what doesn’t.
That learning, collective and honest, is exactly how we want to grow.
Fiscal Year Budget Analysis — Days of Work Done in Minutes
One of our most significant wins this year came in the finance office. Our team used AI to conduct the data analysis behind our fiscal year budget, typically, this work would have taken many days to complete, but with AI tools, the data gathering process was completed in a matter of minutes.
To be clear: our Finance team still led this work. Their expertise, judgment, and knowledge of our organization made it meaningful. AI was the tool; our people were the craftsmen. The result was a comprehensive draft budget delivered faster than ever before, freeing our team to focus on the decisions that require human wisdom.
Fundraising and Marketing
AI has also supercharged our fundraising and marketing campaign analysis. What used to take two to three days of staff time — parsing data, identifying trends, analyzing donor behavior, can now be done in a fraction of the time. This means our team can focus on building relationships, crafting compelling stories, and serving our donors with the attention they deserve.
Uncovering Exciting Opportunities
Perhaps one of the most exciting developments has been our use of AI tools for market research. These tools gather information across the internet to identify potential schools for the adaptation of FAITH Publications curriculum and new partnership opportunities for AlHuda Global School. The results have been remarkable; we are uncovering opportunities we simply would not have found otherwise, opening new doors for growth and community impact globally.
AI has aided in the launch of a brand new FAITH Publications website (faithpublications. org). Our in-house website developer, Br. Adnan Shafi leveraged several AI tools to develop the website and e-commerce operations for FAITH Publications. This helped create a revamped website with an enhanced shopping experience.
AI is a Tool, not a Replacement
We are not using AI to replace our people. We are using it to empower them.
Every dollar saved through AI, every hour freed from repetitive tasks, every insight gained from data, these go back into the hands of our staff so they can do more of what only humans can do: teach with heart, connect with donors, counsel with compassion, and serve with sincerity.
Allah is Ar-Razzaq (the Provider). Every rizq comes from Him alone. We hold this belief firmly, and it shapes how we approach AI.
