From Legal Formalism to Spiritual Authenticity: Revisiting Al-Ghazali’s Critique of Ghurur in Contemporary Islamic Learning Communities

Abstract

Contemporary Islamic learning communities increasingly experience a tension between legal formalism and spiritual authenticity. While access to Islamic knowledge has expanded through institutional and digital platforms, religious practice is often shaped by performativity, credentialism, and algorithm-driven visibility. This study revisits Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's concept of ghurur (spiritual self-deception) as a diagnostic framework for understanding this phenomenon within Indonesian Islamic education. Employing a qualitative multi-method design, the research integrates hermeneutic analysis of al-Ghazali's works with multi-sited ethnography and digital ethnography across pesantren, majelis taklim, and online religious platforms. Data were collected through interviews, focus group discussions, participant observation, and digital content analysis. The findings identify three dominant manifestations of ghurur: institutional (metric-driven religiosity), pedagogical (credentialism and authority performance), and digital (algorithmic piety). Female religious educators demonstrate higher sensitivity to subtle forms of ghurur and employ relational, reflective pedagogies to mitigate its effects. The study proposes a Ghurur–Authenticity Continuum and introduces a Critical Spiritual Pedagogy model that integrates classical Islamic spiritual psychology with contemporary educational practice. This framework offers a viable pathway for cultivating sincerity and spiritual authenticity in both traditional and digitally mediated Islamic learning environments.