Transforming Hadith Authority in the Algorithmic Era: Evidence from Indonesian Digital Muslim Communities

Abstrak

The pervasive spread of social media has fundamentally altered how religious knowledge is produced, distributed, and legitimized, yet scholarly attention to how algorithmic systems reshape Islamic textual authority remains limited. This study examines how hadith authority is being transformed within Indonesian digital Muslim communities in the era of social media algorithms. Using a qualitative approach through digital ethnography and netnography, the research analyzes hadith-related content across five major platforms, namely YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and X, drawing on systematic observation of over 200 content samples collected between 2024 and 2025. The findings reveal that social media algorithms significantly influence the visibility and legitimacy of hadith through mechanisms of engagement optimization, virality, and content personalization. This condition has contributed to the emergence of algorithmic authority, the commodification of hadith, the dominance of religious influencers over traditionally trained scholars, and the formation of religious echo chambers in digital spaces. In this context, hadith narratives are frequently simplified and fragmented into short, emotionally driven, and highly visual content formats that prioritize shareability over scholarly accuracy. The study concludes that hadith authority in the digital era is no longer solely grounded in sanad transmission and classical scholarly expertise, but is increasingly co-constructed by algorithmic systems, platform culture, and audience engagement metrics. These findings contribute to broader theoretical discussions on digital religion, mediatization of Islam, and the reconfiguration of religious authority in late modernity, while also offering practical implications for Islamic education and digital literacy programs in Muslim-majority societies.