Digital Sufi Epistemology and the Mediation of ʿIlm, Qalb, and Ṭahārah: Al-Ghazali’s Framework in Indonesian Instagram Sufism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/kt.v7i2.54275Keywords:
Al-Ghazali, digital religion, digital Sufism, Digital Taqlīd, Instagram, Sufi epistemologyAbstract
Purpose: This study aims to examine how Al-Ghazali’s Sufi epistemology can be reconstructed as an analytical framework for understanding the mediation of Sufi knowledge on Indonesian Instagram. It focuses on how the core concepts of ʿilm, qalb, and ṭahārah are reconfigured within platform-based religious communication. Methodology: This study employed a qualitative hermeneutic-content analysis design. The primary textual data were drawn from Al-Ghazali’s Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn, especially Kitāb al-ʿIlm and Asrār al-Ṭahārah. The digital data consisted of 150 top-engaged Instagram posts from three Indonesian accounts: @rumiisme, @ngajitasawuf, and @nuonline_id, observed from January to March 2024. The data were analyzed through Gadamerian hermeneutics, mediatization theory, and digital religion theory. Findings: The study found three major patterns: the scarcity of classical source citation, the higher engagement of aesthetic and easily consumable Sufi content, and the limited visibility of mujāhadah-centered discourse. These findings show that Instagram’s media logic tends to privilege visual appeal, affective immediacy, and short-form accessibility over sustained textual engagement, sanad-based authority, and disciplined spiritual formation. Implications: The findings suggest that digital Sufism should not be assessed only through access, popularity, or audience reach, but also through epistemic integrity, ethical discipline, and spiritual authenticity. Originality/Value: This study proposes a Digital Sufi Epistemology Framework and introduces analytical concepts such as Digital Taqlīd, Thumb Ethics, mediated barakah, and Zuhd al-Raqmī to explain how classical Sufi epistemology can critically engage with algorithmic religion.
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