IslamicLegalBench: Evaluating LLMs' Knowledge and Reasoning of Islamic Law Across 1,200 Years of Islamic Pluralist Legal Traditions

Jan 1, 2026·
Ezieddin Elmahjub
,
Junaid Qadir
,
Abdullah Mushtaq
,
Rafay Naeem
,
Ibrahim Ghaznavi
Dr. Waleed Iqbal
Dr. Waleed Iqbal
· 0 min read
Abstract
A benchmark for evaluating how well large language models understand and reason about Islamic legal traditions across more than a millennium of pluralist jurisprudence, with implications for cross-cultural benchmarks of model knowledge.
Type
Publication
Artificial Intelligence and Law, 1-67
publications
Dr. Waleed Iqbal
Authors
Dr. Waleed Iqbal

I am Waleed Iqbal, an Assistant Professor in Data Science at Northeastern University, based at their London Campus.

I also hold position of Teaching Fellow in Computer Science at the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London.

I received my PhD in Computer Science under the supervision of Dr. Ignacio Castro and Prof. Gareth Tyson in the Social Data Science (SDS) Lab, Networks Research Group at Queen Mary University of London.

My research interests are broadly in manifestation of socio-economic inequality in online user activity.

Previously, I worked at IHSAN Lab in Information Technology University Lahore, Pakistan, supervised by Prof. Junaid Qadir as a postgraduate thesis student, affiliated researcher, and teaching assistant.

Since September 2023, I am endorsed and recognised as UK Global Talent (Exceptional Promise) in the Research and Academic Category by the Royal Academy of Engineering UK and granted Global Talent Visa by the Government of the United Kingdom.