Reconstructing the Concept of Ulul Albab as an Ideal Human Profile in the Digital Era

Ali Rakhman

doi:10.58794/jim.v4i2.2588

Authors

Ali Rakhman Abdurrab University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58794/jim.v4i2.2588

Keywords:

Ulul Albab, ideal human, digital era

Abstract

The digital era has fundamentally transformed how individuals acquire information, reason, make decisions, and interact, while simultaneously introducing epistemological, cognitive, and moral-psychological challenges. This study aims to reconstruct the concept of Ulul Albab as the Quranic ideal human profile for navigating digital life. Employing a qualitative literature-based methodology, this research integrates semantic analysis, thematic exegesis (tafsīr mawḍūʿī), content analysis, and conceptual analysis. The findings reveal that the concept of Ulul Albab encompasses seven primary characteristics: scholarship (ilmu), mindful recollection (tadhakkur), spiritual remembrance (dhikr), deep reflection (tadabbur), critical contemplation (tafakkur), discernment and selective choice (tamyīz-ikhtiyār), and God-consciousness (taqwā). In the digital context, these traits are reconstructed into the capacity to construct responsible knowledge, convert information into meaningful learning, maintain divine consciousness, engage in profound reflection, preserve cognitive autonomy, critically filter and select information, and guide technology use toward divine values and public benefit. This reconstruction establishes a Quranic digital human profile that is neither anti-technology nor technology-dependent, but capable of retaining epistemic, cognitive, and moral-spiritual agency within digital environments. Consequently, the concept of Ulul Albab offers an integrative framework for developing individuals equipped to navigate digital transformation without sacrificing depth of thought, moral responsibility, or spiritual orientation.

Key words Ulul Albab; ideal human; digital era; artificial intelligence; epistemic agency; cognitive autonomy; God-consciousness (taqwā)

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