Tawaqquf Pedagogy: Reconstructing the Regulation of Epistemic Judgement in Islamic Education in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Abstract

The development of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) raises concerns about learners’ independence of judgement when information is accepted without sufficient evaluation of evidence or justification. This study aims to identify the epistemic structure and mechanisms of tawaqquf in classical Islamic literature and to reconstruct these into a pedagogical framework for strengthening epistemic agency in GenAI-assisted learning. Employing a two-stage qualitative approach, the study combines document analysis and conceptual theory-building based on 25 argumentative units drawn from seven classical works by six authors. The data were examined through semantic coding, cross-unit comparison and pattern analysis; the findings were then brought into dialogue with contemporary theories of educational psychology and epistemology. The findings identify six epistemic functions: Epistemic Diagnosis (ED), Evidence–Commitment Calibration (EC), Deliberate Restraint (DR), Active Resolution/Inquiry (AR), Revisability and Exit (RX), and Boundary Governance (BG). Together, these functions constitute a conditional and non-linear architecture for regulating epistemic commitment. EC is proposed as a candidate linking mechanism between the adequacy of evidence and the degree of commitment warranted by that evidence, while BG governs the conditions and limits of legitimate suspension of judgement. The reconstruction yields Tawaqquf Pedagogy and Tawaqquf-Based Epistemic Agency (TBEA), together with seven theoretical propositions for learning practices that retain learners’ responsibility for evaluation and justification. The study’s originality lies in integrating classical Islamic epistemic principles with mechanisms of evidence–commitment regulation within a contemporary pedagogical framework. However, the purposively selected corpus and the absence of empirical validation mean that its contribution remains conceptual and requires subsequent empirical investigation.