Building Scholarly Awareness in The Digital Age: A Perspective on The Exegesis of QS. Al-‘Alaq Ayat 1–5 And QS. Taha Ayat 114

Abstract

This study examines the concept of knowledge consciousness (kesadaran berilmu) in the digital era through the lens of Quranic exegesis on QS Al Alaq [96]: 1–5 and QS Taha [20]: 114. Using a qualitative library research method with a comparative tafsir approach, this study juxtaposes classical exegesis (Tafsir Ibnu Katsir and Tafsir al Thabari) with contemporary exegesis (Tafsir al Mishbah by M Quraish Shihab) to examine how the command to "read" (iqra) and the supplication "increase me in knowledge" (Rabbi zidni ilman) can be reappropriated to respond to the challenges of information overload, shallow reading habits, and algorithm driven content consumption in the digital age. The findings show that QS Al Alaq frames reading as an act of worship anchored in divine guidance ("in the name of your Lord") rather than a purely technical skill, while QS Taha 114 models a posture of continuous intellectual humility that resists complacency in the pursuit of knowledge. Integrating these two principles yields a four pillar framework of Quranic digital knowledge consciousness: intentional reading, rigor and verification, epistemic humility, and lifelong learning. This framework offers a spiritually grounded complement to secular models of digital literacy, repositioning the pursuit of knowledge as worship rather than mere information consumption.