The Epistemology of Khabar Al-Ghazali Verification as A Framework for Digital Information Fiqh in The Post-Truth Era

Abstract

The post-truth era and proliferation of religious misinformation on social media necessitate the development of systematic shari'ah-based information verification frameworks. This research aims to reconstruct and operationalize al-Ghazali's khabar epistemology in al-Mustashfa as a digital information verification framework, while analyzing legal implications (ahkam taklifi-wadh'i) and maqashid al-syariah relevance for constructing digital information fiqh. Employing library research with normative-usuli approach, analysis was conducted through argumentation reconstruction, indicator conceptualization, and takhrij al-manath (contextual legal reasoning) techniques. Findings demonstrate that al-Ghazali's tripartite structure (tasdiq-takdzib-tawaqquf) with seven verification criteria, four rejection criteria, and epistemic suspension zone can be operationalized into a seven-step Digital Information Verification Procedure (PVID) yielding Publish, Do Not Publish, or Hold & Verify labels. This framework derives ahkam taklifi, prohibition of disseminating takdzib-category information, gradated makruh-haram rulings for tawaqquf category, and conditional tabayyun obligations, alongside ahkam wadh'i establishing verification as syarat sihhat, potential dharar as mani', and proportional responsibility distribution among content producers-curators-distributors. Maqashid relevance manifests in protecting five dharuriyyat (hifz al-din, al-nafs, al-'ird, al-'aql, al-mal), forming the foundation of digital information fiqh as a thematic fiqh branch responsive to contemporary challenges yet rooted in classical usul al-fiqh methodology.