The Development of Research on the Issue of Imam Shafi'i Muslim Scholars through Bibliometric Analysis in 2020-2025

Abstract

This research is motivated by the importance of the figure of Imam Syafi'i as an influential Muslim scholar in the development of Islamic law. The main objective of this study is to analyze the development, publication sources, main contributors, emerging issues, and potential for new problems related to research on Imam Syafi'i in the period 2020–2025. This study uses a quantitative approach with a bibliometric research method. The main data source was obtained from Google Scholar with the help of the Publish or Perish (PoP) application, resulting in 759 publications which were then filtered to 734. The research was conducted in June 2025. Data was analyzed descriptively and qualitatively using the VOSviewer and Microsoft Word applications. The results of the study show five main findings: first, an increase in the publication trend, especially in 2022, with as many as 171 publications; second, the repository is the dominant source of publication (51%); third, six active researchers were identified, including Rizki Fauzan, Lc. (8 publications), Abu Hasna (8 publications), Amrin Borotan (4 publications), Suaib Lubis (4 publications), Mitra Ramadhan (5 publications), Imam Syafi'i (3 publications); fourth, the main issues that are often discussed include Islamic law, effectiveness, and qualitative approach; fifth, the potential for renewable issues includes practice, child, poetry, Imam Maliki, and comparative study. The limitations of this study are the use of a database that is limited to Google Scholar, suboptimal spatial visualization, and the lack of specific data related to journals in the field of comparative schools of thought. Future recommendations are to expand the scope of the database to Scopus or WoS and increase the depth of visual and thematic analysis so that the results are more comprehensive.