Digital Tabayyun in the Age of Deepfakes: A Double Movement Interpretation of QS. Al-Hujurat [49]:6

Abstract

The proliferation of deepfake technology has blurred the distinction between authentic and fabricated information, creating ethical challenges in evaluating and disseminating digital content. This study examines the ethical principles of tabayyun in QS. Al-Hujurat [49]:6 and contextualizes them within the deepfake phenomenon through Fazlur Rahman’s Double Movement approach. Employing qualitative library research, the study analyzes Qur’anic exegesis, classical and contemporary literature, and scholarly studies on deepfakes, digital misinformation, and information verification. The analysis involves reconstructing the verse’s socio-moral context, identifying its underlying ethical principles, and contextualizing them within contemporary digital communication. The findings identify five interconnected dimensions of tabayyun: information verification, source-credibility assessment, caution in making consequential judgments, protection of potentially affected parties, and social responsibility in disseminating information. Through the Double Movement, these principles are reformulated as a framework for digital information ethics without equating deepfakes or artificial intelligence with Qur’anic categories such as fāsiq or naba’. The study proposes Digital Tabayyun as a contextual Qur’anic ethical framework for critically receiving, verifying, evaluating, and responsibly sharing digitally mediated information. It extends tabayyun beyond interpersonal communication to technologically mediated environments where visual and audio content can be synthetically produced and manipulated.