Auditorium of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA SPs UIN Jakarta, SPs NEWS – The Graduate School (SPs) of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta held the 1688th Doctoral Promotion Exam in the Auditorium Room of Prof. Dr. Suwito, MA on Monday, July 13, 2026 with promovendus Noor Arief.

Noor Arief is a student of the Doctoral program in Islamic Studies with a concentration in Library and Information Science. His dissertation is entitled "Academic Reconstruction for the Expansion of DDC 2X4 Notation Special for the Field of Fiqh Version of the Ministry of Religion in 1999".

In his presentation, Noor Arief explained that the Islamic classification system issued by the Ministry of Religion (now the Ministry of Religion) in 1999 was a crucial initial milestone. The system was originally designed to expand  the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system in class 297 (Islam), especially 2X4 notation to be more representative in accommodating Islamic works in Indonesia.

However, the system, which is more than two decades old, is considered stagnant and has not undergone significant updates. As a result, today's libraries often stutter and have difficulty accommodating the explosion of contemporary Islamic literature, especially those related to modern fiqh studies.

The real impact of this stagnation is the low rate of information retrieval. Academics, researchers, and students often find it difficult to find specific fiqh library materials because the existing system of labeling or numbering library shelves is no longer able to accommodate the dynamics of Islamic epistemology.

Departing from this academic anxiety, Noor Arief formulated a classification reconstruction model scheme. Uniquely, this research combines two cutting-edge approaches at once, namely literary warrant (based on big data) and user warrant (justification of user needs), which are then wrapped in the epistemological framework of philosophy of science.

This qualitative research method is carried out in a modern way by utilizing  the Publish or Perish  application and bibliometric analysis via VOSviewer to map thousands of literature data. In order to strengthen its conceptual and normative legitimacy, he also conducted in-depth interviews (user warrants) with professors of jurisprudence and librarian practitioners.

The results of VOSviewer's visual analysis reveal an interesting reality about the emergence of new terms that have not been accommodated in the old system. Real phenomena such as religious fiqh in crisis situations (for example, the Covid-19 era) to octopus in the scientific development of sharia economics are valid evidence of a paradigm shift in the modern fiqh landscape.

This research proves that the rearrangement of the old 2X4 notation is still very narrow and does not reflect the complete complexity of Islamic law. Contemporary jurisprudence is no longer limited to discussing worship, muamalah, munakahat, inheritance, jinayah, and traditional siyasah, but has penetrated into crucial issues such as gender equality, human rights (HAM), and Islamic international law.

Through this data-based reconstruction and the real needs of users, a much more representative, comprehensive, and epistemologically robust model of Islamic classification was born. This new scheme not only strengthens the identity of Islamic scholarship in the field of documentation, but also makes a great contribution to building an information organization system that is firmly rooted in  the Islamic worldview.

Theoretically, the fruit of Noor Arief's thinking has succeeded in expanding the horizons of Islamic Library and Information Science in Indonesia. Meanwhile, practically, this new classification model is ready to be applied in real terms in the management of collections in various State Islamic University Libraries (PTKIN) for the sake of easy access to literature for future generations.

Noor Arief successfully defended his dissertation under the guidance of Prof. Muhammad Zuhdi, M.Ed, Ph.D and Prof. Sulistyo-Basuki, Ph.D, and was tested in front of a board of examiners consisting of Prof. Dr. Zulkifli, MA, Prof. Muhammad Zuhdi, M.Ed, Ph.D, Prof. Sulistyo-Basuki, Ph.D, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Tholabi Kharlie, S.Ag, SH, MH, MA, Prof. Dr. Syopiansyah Jaya Putra, M.Sis,  Dr. Ade Abdul Hak, S.Ag, SS, M.Hum.

After paying attention to the dissertation writing, the comments of the examiner team and the promovendus' answers, the examiner team determined that Noor Arief graduated with the title of Very Satisfactory. Noor Arief is the 1688th Doctor in the field of Islamic Studies, doctoral program of the Graduate School of UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta. (Jay A)