RETHINKING ISLAMIC EDUCATION IN THE DIGITAL AGE : TOWARD A PHILOSOPHICAL FRAMEWORK FOR CYBER-BASED DISTANCE LEARNING

Abstract

The transition of education into digital and distance-based modes represents not only a technological shift but also a fundamental transformation in the nature of knowledge acquisition and pedagogical interaction. Within this changing landscape, Islamic education faces the challenge of aligning its foundational philosophical principles with the dynamics of digital learning environments.This study aims to rethink Islamic education in the digital age by developing a philosophical framework for cyber-based distance learning grounded in Islamic epistemology and ethics. Employing a hermeneutic–philosophical approach, the study integrates textual analysis of classical and contemporary Islamic sources with critical perspectives on digital technology and educational theory. As a library-based qualitative study, the data consist of scholarly texts, conceptual frameworks, and observations of selected e-learning platforms utilized by Islamic cyber universities, with validation conducted through source and methodological triangulation. The findings reveal the need to reconceptualize learners as cyber-students who engage in purposeful, ethical, and dialogical knowledge-seeking within digital spaces. The study further demonstrates that cyber-based Islamic education can function as a medium for ethicalcultivation, spiritual refinement, and the pursuit of wisdom when guided by a tawhidic worldview. In conclusion, this research affirms that digital learning environments, when philosophically grounded, hold the potential to become meaningful epistemological spaces that transcend instrumental and algorithmic reductionism in Islamic education.