DIGITIZING SCIENTIFIC QUR’ANIC EXEGESIS: A DECOLONIAL ANALYSIS OF TAFSIL.ID

Authors

  • Aqdi Rofiq Asnawi Universitas Darussalam Gontor Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47498/miconis.v2i.6022

Keywords:

Decolonial Studies, Postcolonial Piety, Digital Islam, Qur’anic Exegesis, Tafsil.id

Abstract

This study examines Tafsil.id (Tafsir Sains Digital) website as a digital platform that reinterprets scientific Qur’anic exegesis within a decolonial framework. It explores how Indonesian Muslims use digital media to construct new expressions of piety while reshaping access to Qur’anic knowledge. Using a qualitative-descriptive method, the research integrates literature review and content analysis to investigate the site’s thematic categorization of verses, sources of interpretation, and epistemological orientation. The findings show that Tafsil.id contributes to epistemic decolonization by presenting scientific exegesis in the Indonesian language and context, moving beyond Arabic-dominated scholarship. It also embodies postcolonial piety by merging traditional religiosity with modern digital engagement. Moreover, the platform serves as an educational tool that connects revelation with contemporary sciences such as cosmology and environmental studies. Overall, Tafsil.id reflects how digital media can transform Qur’anic interpretation into an inclusive, accessible, and contextually relevant form of knowledge for the wider Muslim community.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abd Razzak, M. M., Mohamed, S. N., & Ab Rahim, N. M. Z. (2024). Exploring Quranic and Exegesis Studies on Social Media through YouTube Channel Analysis. AlBayan, 22(3), 522–552. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/22321969-20240163

Abubakar, H., & Hassan, S. (2018). A framework for enhancing digital trust of quranic text using blockchain technology. Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering, 10(2–4), 7–17. Scopus.

al-Muṣlih, A. bin ‘Abd al-‘Azīz. (2014). Al-I‘jāz al-‘Ilmī fī al-Qur’ān wa al-Sunnah. al-Hay’ah al-Ālamiyyah lī al-I‘jāz al-‘Ilmī fī al-Qur’ān wa al-Sunnah - Rābiṭatu al-Ālam al-Islāmī.

al-Najjār, Z. (2007). Tafsīr al-Āyāt al-Kawniyyah fī al-Qur’ān al-Karīm (1st edn, Vol. 1). Maktabatu al-Syurūq al-Dauliyyah.

Al-Tarawneh, A. T. (2022). Translational Trajectories in Arabic-English Translation of The Holy Qur’an. Hamdard Islamicus, 45(2), 9–26.

Asnawi, A. R., Affani, S., & Hakamah, Z. (2021). Scientific Qur’anic Exegesis in Indonesia: Contributions by Scholars, Institutions, and the Government. Australian Journal of Islamic Studies, 6(4), Article 4. https://ajis.com.au/index.php/ajis/article/view/401

Bhabha, H. K. (2012). The Location of Culture (2nd edn). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551

Bin Sapran Hrp, A. H., Mohd Yusoff, M. Y. Z., & Muhamad, A. (2021). The Biological Elements in Integrated IPA Textbook in Indonesia: Analysis Based on Tafsir ‘Iimi. Quranica, 13(1), 133–164. Scopus.

Bunt, G. R. (2018). Changing Digital Spaces: Islam, Technology, and Social Media. In G. R. Bunt (Ed.), Hashtag Islam: How Cyber-Islamic Environments Are Transforming Religious Authority (p. 0). University of North Carolina Press. https://doi.org/10.5149/northcarolina/9781469643168.003.0003

Campbell, H. A. (Ed.). (2012). Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203084861

Campbell, H. A. (2020). Digital creatives and the rethinking of religious authority. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003045625

Chakrabarty, D. (2007). Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial thought and historical difference. Princeton university press.

Echchaibi, N. (2011). From audio tapes to video blogs: The delocalisation of authority in Islam. Nations and Nationalism, 17(1), 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8129.2010.00468.x

Ettobi, M. (2015). Translating orality in the postcolonial Arabic novel: A study of two cases of translation into English and French. Translation Studies, 8(2), 226–240. https://doi.org/10.1080/14781700.2015.1023216

Grosfoguel, R. (2011). Decolonizing Post-Colonial Studies and Paradigms of Political-Economy: Transmodernity, Decolonial Thinking, and Global Coloniality. TRANSMODERNITY: Journal of Peripheral Cultural Production of the Luso-Hispanic World, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.5070/T411000004

Hanif, S., Khan, A., Mustafa, E., Ali, M., Shuja, J., & Hasan, M. H. (2024). Ensuring Integrity of Quranic Verses using Hyperledger Fabric Framework under IBM Blockchain Platform. IEEE Symp. Comput. Appl. Ind. Electron., ISCAIE, 505–510. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/ISCAIE61308.2024.10576345

Knauß, S. (2021). Why the life of the other matters-The decolonial ethics of exteriority in Dussel, Quijano and Mignolo. In C. Haar, M. Kaufmann, & C. Müller (Eds), Civilization—Nature—Subjugation: Variations of (De-)Colonization (pp. 341–354). Peter Lang AG.

Lumbard, J. E. B. (2022). Decolonizing Qurʾanic Studies. Religions, 13(2), 176. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020176

Majid, D. S. A. (2014). Qur’ānic Interpretative Latitude and Human Evolution: A Case Study. AlBayan, 12(2), 95–114. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1163/22321969-12340009

Mignolo, W. D. (2007). Delinking: The rhetoric of modernity, the logic of coloniality and the grammar of de-coloniality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 449–514. https://doi.org/10.1080/09502380601162647

Mignolo, W. D. (2009). Epistemic Disobedience, Independent Thought and Decolonial Freedom. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(7–8), 159–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276409349275

Mignolo, W. D., & Walsh, C. E. (2018). On decoloniality: Concepts, analytics, praxis. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822371779

Mir, M. (2017). Scientific Exegesis of the Qur’ān-A Viable Project? In Studies in the Islam and Science Nexus: Volume 1 (pp. 443–452). Taylor and Francis; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315242187-37

Morrison, R. (2020). Tafsīr and Science. In The Oxf. Handb. Of Qur’anic Stud. (pp. 806–817). Oxford University Press; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199698646.013.58

Mulia, M., Zulfatmi, Khalil, Z. F., Kurniawan, C. S., & Rizki, D. (2024). Conflict and consensus in fiqh siyasah: The practice of Islamic law across various cultures. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 12(3), 1263–1288. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v12i3.1363

Murad, A. N., & Rizki, D. (2022). Development of religious moderation study on prevention of radicalism in Indonesia: A systematic literature review approach. POTENSIA: Jurnal Kependidikan Islam, 8(2), 198–224. https://doi.org/10.24014/potensia.v8i2.20727

Oktalita, F., & Rizki, D. (2021). Analysis of MUI Fatwa Number 17 of 2020 regarding kaifiat prayer guidelines for health workers who wear personal protection equipment (PPE) when treating and handling Covid-19 patients. Al-Istinbath: Jurnal Hukum Islam, 6(2), 247–270. https://doi.org/10.29240/jhi.v6i2.3332

Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America. International Sociology, 15(2), 215–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580900015002005

Rizki, D., Fitri, F. A., & Ulmuftia, N. (2025). Peran media sosial dalam mendorong perilaku konsumen terhadap boikot produk Israel. Journal of Sharia Economy and Islamic Tourism, 5(2), 72–81. https://doi.org/10.31764/jseit.v5i2.30659

Sabbah, T., & Selamat, A. (2015). A Framework for Quranic Verses Authenticity Detection in Online Forum. Proc. - Taibah Univ. Int. Conf. Adv. Inf. Technol. Holy Quran Its Sci., NOORIC, 6–11. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1109/NOORIC.2013.14

Sahimi, M. S. B., Rahim, M. H. A., Rushihi, A. A. B., Kirin, A., & Zakaria, N. (2025). Preserving the Authenticity of Quranic Exegesis Through Artificial Intelligence: A Proposed Framework for Digital Verification. Quranica, 17(2), 325–344. Scopus.

Saleh, W. A. (2020). Contemporary Tafsīr: The Rise of Scriptural Theology. In The Oxf. Handb. Of Qur’anic Stud. (pp. 693–703). Oxford University Press; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199698646.013.56

Santos, B. de S. (2018). The end of the cognitive empire: The coming of age of epistemologies of the South. Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478002000

Sati, A., Halim, A., Nasution, A. H., & Ridwan, M. (2025). The Digital Transformation of Tafsir and Its Implications for Islamic Legal Derivation in the Contemporary Era. MILRev: Metro Islamic Law Review, 4(1), 389–415. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.32332/milrev.v4i1.10425

Syamsuar, Rizki, D., & Zikriati. (2024). Enforcement of human rights according to Nurcholish Madjid: Fiqh siyasah dauliyah perspective. Al-Daulah: Jurnal Hukum dan Perundangan Islam, 14(1), 27–60. https://doi.org/10.15642/ad.2024.14.1.25-57

Tafsil.id. (2024). Q. al-Rūm (30:41). https://tafsil.id/ayat/d78492e0-caaa-4892-9b48-9ae067f27226

Tamer, G. (2023). Handbook of Qur’anic hermeneutics. In Handb. Of Qur’anic Hermeneutics (Vol. 4, p. 448). De Gruyter; Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110582284

Tim Penyusun. (2010a). Air dalam Perspektif Al-Qur’an dan Sains (1st edn). Lajnah Pentashihan Mushaf Al-Qur’an.

Tim Penyusun (Ed.). (2010b). Penciptaan Bumi dalam Perspektif Al-Qur’an dan Sains (1st edn). Lajnah Pentashihan Mushaf Al-Qur’an.

Tim Penyusun. (2010c). Tumbuhan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur’an dan Sains (1st edn). Lajnah Pentashihan Mushaf Al-Qur’an.

Zembylas, M. (2025). Decolonial pathways in education: Walter Mignolo, epistemic delinking, and the risks of ethno-essentialism. Globalisation, Societies and Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2025.2459110

Zubaidi, S., Asnawi, A. R., & Amir, S. B. (2025). The Development and Challenges of Scientific Qur’anic Interpretation: A Comparative Study Between Malaysia and Indonesia. Al-Bayan: Journal of Qur’an and Hadith Studies, 23(1), 27–49. https://doi.org/10.1163/22321969-20250165

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31