Otoritas Keagamaan di Ruang Digital: Analisis Tematik Hadis Terhadap Pergeseran Legitimasi Keilmuan dan Etika Transmisi Informasi di Media Sosial

Religious Authority in the Digital Space: Hadith Thematic Analysis of the Shift in Academic Legitimacy and Information Transmission Ethics on Social Media

Abstract

The digital era has fundamentally disrupted the structure of traditional religious authority within contemporary Muslim societies. Public legitimacy has shifted from formal, scholarship-based institutions toward performative figures who adeptly leverage social media. This study aims to critically analyze this socio-religious phenomenon through a thematic hadith approach (maudhu’i). The method employed is descriptive qualitative based on library research. This study evaluates prophetic traditions regarding the gradual loss of religious knowledge, the moral responsibility of information transmission, and the social dangers of pseudo-authority. Primary data were gathered from the Kutubus Sittah literature specifically Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim—while secondary data were collected from contemporary academic journals on religion, new media, and cyber-sociology. The results reveal that popularity mechanisms on social media potentially create space for the emergence of religious figures who do not always possess academic legitimacy. Consequently, digital platforms frequently elevate incompetent individuals—conceptually identified in prophetic traditions as "ignorant leaders" (ru’ūsan juhhālan) to issue instant fatwas without a solid foundation in Islamic legal methodology (ushul fikih). This epistemological shift poses a severe risk of triggering widespread theological distortion and social polarization among lay audiences. As a practical solution to this crisis of cyber-authority, this study formulates an operational framework termed "Digital Tabayyun." This framework adapts the critical methodology of classical hadith scholars into the virtual space through four primary filters: source verification (sanad validation), content authentication (matan verification), contextual analysis (asbab al-wurud), and ethical impact assessment (maslahah analysis). The implementation of this framework is expected to safeguard the authenticity of Islamic teachings and curb the flow of misleading religious information on social media.