Constructivism Approach in The Qur'an: Pedagogic Study on The Story of The Prophet Ibrahim Seeking The Lord

The story of the spiritual journey of the Prophet Ibrahim AS in seeking his Lord in the Qur’an contains the seeds of constructivism approach. This article aims to know how the concept of constructivism approaches, how the spiritual journey of Prophet Ibrahim AS in seeking his Lord and how the constructivism approach practiced by the Prophet Ibrahim AS in his journey. This research is a qualitative study with a literature review approach by using primary and secondary data sources and content analysis as a data analysis technique. The results of this research show that the concept of constructivism is a concept of a learning approach that emphasizes the active of learners to build their own knowledge and involve social interactions. Meanwhile, the spiritual journey of the Prophet Ibrahim AS in seeking his Lord was depicted in the surah al-An'am verse 76-79 in which the Prophet Ibrahim AS made the star, moon, sun as God. However, he got to the truth that the true God is the God who created it all. The application of the constructivism approach conducted by the Prophet Ibrahim AS appeared at the prophet Ibrahim's attempt to construct his own knowledge with various sources about the concept of deity that ultimately, he found the true truth.


A. Introduction
The Qur'an is the holy book of Muslims which contains comprehensive teaching values such as aqidah, sharia (worship and muamalah), morals, histories, futuristic information, and divine knowledge 1 which is transcendental. Besides the values of religious teachings, the most important is that the Qur'an is a universal source of knowledge. 2 This means that the knowledge contained in the Qur'an is not only beneficial for Muslims but also for all humankind. This is due to the truth in the Qur'an being an absolute truth because it comes from divine revelation. 3 However, the Qur'an is also not a book of theory so it only presents sources of knowledge that must be explored and expanded further in order to Islam as a religion of rahmatan lil 'alamin is more realized.
One source of knowledge that can be explored is the stories presented in the Qur'an. According to Manna' al-Qathan, that in the Qur'an there are three types of stories; first, stories about prophets such as the prophet Moses, the prophet Jesus, the prophet Noah, the prophet Ibrahim and so on. Second, stories about certain events carried out by other than prophets such as the story of Pharaoh, Talut, Jalut, Maryam, Ali Imran and so on, and third, stories about the prophet Muhammad, such as the journey of the Prophet's migration, the battle of Uhud, the battle of Badr, the battle of Khandak, Hudaibiyah agreement and so on. 4 Among these stories, the source of knowledge that can be extracted is the story of the prophet Abraham in his spiritual journey in seeking the Lord. In this regard, there are many studies that have been carried out to explore deeper into the essential meaning in the spiritual journey of the prophet Ibrahim seeking his God, such as Sri Suyanta 5 and Zainol Hasan 6 who explore the educational values in 1 R. Abuy Sodikin, "Memahami Sumber Ajaran Islam," Alqalam 20, no. 98-99 (2003) Apart from the values that have been studied above, in the view of educational psychology, there is other knowledge that can be extracted from the process of the spiritual journey of the prophet Ibrahim, it is the constructivism approach. Constructivism approach is one approach in learning that puts students actively and creatively building their knowledge in their own minds. 9 In the process, individuals are influenced by their attitudes and beliefs that come from experience, the environment in which they live, and the communication they carry out. 10 Thus, the constructivism approach is a student-oriented approach so it is able to develop individual reasoning abilities that will be useful in solving problems that they will face in the future.
Therefore, this paper aims to find out how the concept of constructivism approaches in learning, how the spiritual journey of Prophet Ibrahim AS in the process of seeking the Lord, and to analyze the constructivism approach in the process of Prophet Ibrahim seeking the Lord.

B. Research Methods
This research is qualitative research with a library research approach. The data sources in this study consisted of primary data sources in the form of the Qur'an and Ibn Kathir's interpretation 11 to explore the constructivism approach in the Qur'an as well as the book "Radical constructivism: A way of knowing and 7 Edi Sumanto, "Filosofi Nabi Ibrahim Mencari Tuhan Melalui Bulan, Bintang Dan Matahari," Nuansa 11, no. 2 (2018) learning" written by Von Glaserfeld 12 to explore the concept of a constructivist approach. Meanwhile, secondary data sources consist of other books and journals that support the discussion on constructivism. The data analysis technique used is content analysis.

Concept of Constructivism Approach in Learning
Firstly, the term constructivism was a philosophy, not a model or strategy in learning, but then this term began to spread massively in the education context.
According to Von Glaserfeld, 13 constructivism is an individual who actively and creatively shapes his knowledge. The same idea was stated by Bruner that the basic premise of constructivism is that individuals must actively build their own knowledge and skills where the information comes from the environment beyond themselves. 14 Meanwhile, according to Bada, constructivism is an approach in teaching and learning on the premise that learning is the result of mental construction. 15 In the constructivist view, learning is a process of building knowledge gradually which results expanded through a limited context and not suddenly. Knowledge is not facts, theories, or concepts that are ready to be accepted or remembered. Individuals must construct knowledge and give meaning through experience. 16 According to Budi Utami et al, students should be accustomed to solving problems, finding something useful for themselves, and getting used to coming up with new ideas. 17 In the process, students must be able to transform information from complex situations to other situations. Thus, knowledge is formed by students, not just received. From this, it can be concluded that the constructivism approach is student-oriented, not teacher-oriented, which 12 Von Glasersfeld, Radical Constructivism: A Way of Knowing and Learning (London, Washington D.C: The Falmer Press, 1995). 13  is a traditional concept and makes students passive. 18 This is in line with the current era; the era of industrial revolution 4.0, where education must be able to produce the right output and capable of keeping up with changing times that are so massive that they are not eroded by the change itself.
The basic principle underlying the constructivism approach is that all knowledge is not perceived by the five senses (sight, hearing, smell, touch, and so on) but is formed or constructed. In this case, there are two basic things that must be in the constructivism approach; the individual actively constructs his own knowledge and social interaction is the most important aspect in the construction of knowledge. 19 In this approach, there are principles that must be adhered to by individuals, they are: a. Learning is an active process. To obtain effective learning, constructivist learners must actively construct their own knowledge. Here the function of learning is an effort to build knowledge personally, not an attempt to get the right answer.
b. The best learning is by resolving various cognitive conflicts through experience, reflection, and metacognition.
c. Learning is a process of searching for meaning so that individuals construct their own meanings. d. Knowledge construction is not something that is individual, but the result of interaction with the surrounding environment. e. Educators must find out knowledge about student development and learning theory in order to better understand the processes that occur in learning.
f. Deep learning when constructing comprehensive knowledge. Students will get meaning if they can view something as a whole. 18 Utami, Sugiharto, and Indriyanti, 578. 19 21 The constructivism learning cycle model consists of three stages; a) discovery, where students make questions about the theme discussed and make hypotheses, b) concept introduction, where educators ask concepts related to the theme discussed, and c) concept application, where the process of applying concepts into stages 1 and 2.
Furthermore, the Gacnon & Colley constructivism model consists of six stages; a) situation, which describes a certain situation related to the theme studied, b) grouping, making study groups, and c) Bridges, which is making questions, puzzles and games to be solved, d) questions, which is making opening questions and core questions so that students remain motivated, e) demonstrating, where students presenting the results of scientific work that has been done, and f) reflection, which is contemplating and following up on the work that has been made. Constructivism theory is essentially an implication of cognitive learning theory that puts forward mental processes that occur in individuals. According to Supardan, two important things that must be present in a constructivist approach are that learners must be active in building their own knowledge and this process must involve social interaction. 22 The first point is that individuals actively build their own knowledge which is an implication of Piaget's theory and the second point is that involving social interaction is an implication of Vygotsky's theory. 23 These two figures focus their research on the cognitive aspects of individuals.
From the premise above, there are several advantages of this approach. First, the constructivism approach is student-oriented so that students become active, not passive. In the process, students are required to be active in thinking, asking questions, and expressing arguments both based on their experience and from information that has been previously obtained, directed to solve and analyze problems. In this case, the teacher only acts as a facilitator whose job is to guide and direct students if there are deviations in the process of forming knowledge.
Second, constructivism approach ables to improve intellectual abilities. This is due to the potential of the mind bestowed by God can be optimized because it is always sharpened to carry out cognitive activities such as thinking, contemplating, analyzing, and so on. Third, this approach is able to improve the social skills of students. This is because in the process of forming new knowledge, it must involve social interaction with the surrounding environment, both with the surrounding community and phenomena around students. The existence of this social interaction is indirectly able to improve the socialization skills of students so that students are not only intellectually intelligent but also able to establish good relationships with the surrounding environment.
However, there are also weaknesses in the constructivism approach; first, constructivism approach is based on teaching materials. It means that not all teaching materials can be taught through this approach. In this case, Wawan stated 22  that the application of the constructivism approach must pay attention to the characteristics of the teaching materials themselves. 24 It is due to each teaching material having its own characteristics such as there are teaching materials that are conceptual, procedural, applicable, practical, and so on. These diverse characteristics have an impact on the diversity of methods, approaches, and learning strategies that must be applied in the learning process. In this case, the constructivism approach cannot be applied to all teaching material.
Second, the constructivism approach is subjective, not objective. In this case, what is emphasized in the constructivism approach is that the process is not the result so the process of seeking the truth is subjective. That is, it could be that when educators present the same theme to different students, it will produce different outputs. This is due to students will involve their personal experience and prior knowledge as material in the process of building their knowledge, where the experience of each individual is different so it will affect the results. This will have an impact on the truth obtained through this process. What is worrying is when students make the wrong conclusions and they already feel right with the conclusions they get. So, this is where the main role of educators is to provide direction and straighten the conclusions obtained by students.
Third, there is no concrete formula for applying this constructivism approach. 25 Here the authors view that the constructivism approach is still a big idea that has not been solved in an applicative way so that it can be applied in the field, especially in the context of education in Indonesia. Although there are several models of constructivist approaches that contain the stages in applying this approach, there are no concrete or technical guidelines as far as the authors' knowledge. There are only outlines that are less detailed so education practitioners in the school find it difficult to implement this approach.

When the night grew dark upon him he beheld a star. He said: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: I love not things that set [76]. And when he saw the moon uprising, he exclaimed: This is my Lord. But when it set, he said: Unless my Lord guide me, I surely shall become one of the folk who are astray [77]. And when he saw the sun uprising, he cried: This is my Lord! This is greater! And when it set he exclaimed: O my people! Lo! I am free from all that ye associate (with Him) [78]. Lo! I have turned my face toward Him Who created the heavens and the earth, as one by nature upright, and I am not of the idolaters [79].
In interpreting the verse above, Ibn Kathir revealed that when the prophet Ibrahim saw the rising star, he said: "This is my Lord," but when he saw the star setting, he turned his attention to the moon, but when he encountered the same character before. So he said to his people: "O my people, indeed I am separated from your gods. Verily, I confront myself with the Lord, who created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, it is the true religion, and I do not belong to those who associate partners with God." 27 In this case, Prophet Ibrahim did not agree with and denied his people worshiping the celestial objects.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Bahdjat 28 revealed that when Prophet Ibrahim saw his people worshiping statues, it was not accepted by his common sense, so he 26  contemplated and leaned against the cave wall at night with his eyes looking at the sky. There he saw many starlights that were so beautiful, that he thought, was this my Lord? So Ibrahim believed that his God was the stars. Then Ibrahim saw a big star, it is the moon, he told his people that his Lord is the moon because its light is greater. But in the morning, the prophet Ibrahim saw the moon was no longer there. Prophet Ibrahim rethought that the stars disappeared, as well as the moon.
And on the next day the prophet Ibrahim actually got a bigger light, it was the sun.
So the prophet Ibrahim believed that this was his God, his light was brighter, a mighty God. But Ibrahim was disappointed when at night the sun was no longer there. So the prophet Ibrahim thought again, contemplating the events that had happened to him. Stars, moon, and sun appear and then disappear alternately, it is impossible for God to be like that. So the prophet Ibrahim came to the conclusion that God was who created them, who made them rise and set. God created the universe and gave life to humans.
Several interpretations of the verse above describe how the spiritual process of the prophet Ibrahim in seeking the truth about who God really is. He viewed that the real God is a God who is able to give instructions to his people so that his people do not get lost so when he observed natural phenomena ranging from stars, and moons to the sun that can illuminate human life, he concluded that these celestial objects can be made into God. However, when he saw the celestial objects set, the logical thinking of the prophet Ibrahim could not accept that God could not give guidance to mankind at all times. In the end, he came to the truth that the real God is the God who creates the celestial objects, who makes them rise and set so that he devoted himself to Him.
According to Hasbi, the process by which the prophet Ibrahim conducted the spiritual journey in order to seek the Lord is a human spiritual journey that leads him to the truth. This process also describes the method used by the prophet Ibrahim to lead his people to the religion of monotheism. 29 In addition, the process of seeking the Lord describes how the prophet Ibrahim guided his people by inviting them to use a clear and logical mind in building the basics of faith (aqidah).
These arguments or pieces of evidence of the celestial objects and their beauty are the tools to reach the truth about God. 30

Ibrahim seeking the Lord
Based on the description of the spiritual journey in the story of the prophet Ibrahim above, it indicates that the prophet Ibrahim has substantially laid the foundations of a constructivist approach. This can be analyzed from several aspects, such as: a. Ontology aspect of constructivism approach The nature of constructivism is a process in which learners build their own knowledge actively and creatively through experience and social interaction with their environment. This nature was carried out by the prophet Ibrahim in the process of seeking his God in which he built his knowledge based on his experience of observing the phenomenon of his surrounding people making statues as God. In this case, the logical thinking of the prophet Ibrahim runs that celestial objects that do not have any strength and power certainly cannot be used as God because the real God is the essence who is able to give guidance to his people. Based on prophet Ibrahim's experiences and interactions with the surrounding community, he contemplated and thought with common sense and clarity to find out who the real God was. By rising and setting celestial objects, finally the prophet Ibrahim made the conclusion that the real God is something behind all creation who is transcendental in nature and has the authority and power to create everything and make it move, and is able to give guidance to humans.
In the process of forming his knowledge about this divine concept; starting by observing the stars, moon, and sun leads him to a conclusion. This understanding did not come suddenly, but gradually formed through deep thought and reflection. In the end, Prophet Ibrahim was able to interpret his new knowledge that the true God was behind the creation of it all. If the celestial objects are able to provide light and illumination to mankind moreover, God must be able to illuminate mankind all the time as well. In consequence, God may not arise and be lost, because if it happens, mankind will go astray due to the absence of guidance from God. Therefore, the prophet Ibrahim came to the truth that God is beyond these creations and created them. Here is the place about the meaning of the prophet Ibrahim constructs his knowledge.

b. Aspects of principles in constructivism
In constructivism, there are several principles that must be in the process. When analyzed from the process of the spiritual journey, carried out by the prophet Ibrahim, some of these principles are reflected in the story, these principles are, first, learning is an active process. Here, we see that Prophet Ibrahim was thinking and contemplating actively since seeing the phenomenon of his people's ignorance in his environment which ultimately led him to the real truth. The prophet Ibrahim's liveliness is not only seen in his observations of the rituality (worship of statues) carried out by his surrounding community but also appears in his efforts continuously to determine the true God, starting from the stars, moon, and sun alternately.
Second, the principle of good learning is to resolve cognitive conflicts.
This principle is also reflected in the story of the prophet Ibrahim, where his heart was turbulent, rebelled, and could not accept the reality of what was done by his people who cult inanimate objects that do not have any power like God. The cognitive conflict that occurred in the Prophet Ibrahim is trying to be conveyed to his people indirectly by destroying the statues worshiped. The ultimate goal is to invite his people to think with common sense that the statue worshiped does not have the slightest power, even to save themselves. The logic is that saving themselves from human destruction (in this case the prophet Ibrahim) is unable, moreover provide salvation, prosperity, and even guidance to humans. This is a form of cognitive conflict experienced by the prophet Ibrahim related to the process of seeking his God.
Third, is the principle of searching for meaning. On this principle, constructivist learners do not only form or build their own knowledge, but also must be able to interpret the knowledge built. This has also been practiced by the prophet Ibrahim interpreting the process of searching for his God, which leads him to the conclusion that the true God is the Essence behind everything, including the essence behind humans themselves. These objects are able to "move" so that they arise and be lost, there must be someone operating, it is impossible to move along without someone moving. Finally, a substantial meaning was extracted from the phenomenon of these celestial objects that there is someone who created these objects and who made these objects move, and He is God. This is a deeper and truer meaning process so that it can bring the subject to the ultimate truth.
This meaning is also reflected in the selection of objects made by God, they are objects that can provide illumination to mankind, such as stars, moon, and sun. In the logic of the prophet Ibrahim, God should be able to give light to mankind so as not to get lost. The ray emitted from the celestial objects is able to provide light in the darkness so that when humans walk, they do not get lost. In this case, he interpreted that God must be able to give guidance to humans, so they are always safe in their lives. Therefore, when Prophet Ibrahim saw that the celestial objects were setting or not arising again, it does not make sense. God must always be there and provide guidance for humans.
Fourth, the principle of knowledge construction is not individual, but the result of social interaction with the environment. In this case, before the prophet Ibrahim sought his God, he made social interactions, especially with his father who was a sculptor of the statues worshiped by his people. Not only that, but Prophet Ibrahim also conducted social interactions with his people and invited them to think logically. Through this social interaction, the Prophet Ibrahim tried to find the real God. When the Prophet Ibrahim obtained the first knowledge that the stars were made God, the Prophet Ibrahim believed it and conveyed it to his people, as well as the moon and the sun. However, when the Prophet Ibrahim obtained the truth about the real God, the Prophet Ibrahim also conveyed it to his people. Nevertheless, his people did not accept his thinking, so he declared that he was free from what they were doing.
Fifth, the principle of educators understanding the development of students. In the context of Prophet Ibrahim seeking his Lord, then Allah plays the role of his educator. In this case, Allah knows and understands better the character and cognitive competence of Prophet Ibrahim as his students. That is, God directs and guides Prophet Ibrahim to think about God from natural phenomena. This is because the Prophet Ibrahim was a prophet, so he always received supervision and guidance from Allah through his revelations. Here, God's existence as an educator cannot be seen with the naked eye, but his existence can be felt. According to Imam al-Ghazali in Siti Ma'rifatul Hasanah this approach is referred to as ta'lim Rabbani, it is a pedagogical approach that gets guidance from God. 31 c. Constructivism approach model In the context of Prophet Ibrahim seeking his God, if it is associated with the three models of constructivism approach, then Prophet Ibrahim does not follow one of these models. Here, Prophet Ibrahim has his own model in building his knowledge, where all the processes are carried out personally and not in groups. If described the stages carried out by the Prophet Ibrahim are 1) the situation, in this case, the situation at the time encouraged the Prophet Ibrahim to think hard, to look for the real ideal God who has strength both for himself and for his people. 2) Observation. Here the prophet Ibrahim made observations of the objects around him that are more worthy to be made as God. So the mind of the prophet Ibrahim focussed on objects that are able to provide illumination for mankind. However, on their way, these celestial objects cannot provide illumination forever. 3) Reflection. Here, the prophet so that he came to the conclusion that the ideal God is the one who creates all of them including humans. Substantially, Prophet Ibrahim has exemplified the constructivism approach in his spiritual journey.
Based on the explanation of these results above, both ontological and the main principles contained in this approach have been practiced by the prophet Ibrahim. In this case, based on his experiences and the results of his social interactions with the community, especially at that time with his father, Azar coupled with his intelligence and intellectual abilities, the spiritual journey was able to lead Prophet Ibrahim to build knowledge about the real concept of divinity.
God according to the prophet Ibrahim is the one who is able to provide guidance and salvation, also has power over everything, does not die, and always be able to guide his people to the right path. The prophet Ibrahim tried to search based on natural phenomena around him so that the celestial objects chosen were considered capable of acting like God. However, when the celestial objects disappeared due to the passage of time, his beliefs changed. The initial truth he held had been defeated by his clarity of heart and logical intelligence so Prophet Ibrahim came to the conclusion that the essence of God was the one who created them all.
What Prophet Ibrahim did in constructing his knowledge is in accordance with the existing constructivism concept, both in its essence and the principles that must be. However, the constructivism model which is the stage carried out by the prophet Ibrahim is somewhat different from that presented in the concept. In other words, Prophet Ibrahim has his own stages in building his own knowledge, starting from the situation, observation and reflection. Because the situation of people who live full of ignorance, finally motivates the Prophet Ibrahim to seek continuously. Based on observations of the environment around him, Prophet Ibrahim was able to determine the truth he was looking for. However, when he reflected on his observations, Prophet Ibrahim changed the truth obtained into the ultimate truth.
In this case, we cannot deny the existence of Allah who always guides Prophet Ibrahim in his process, so that when Prophet Ibrahim has obtained a truth, but deviates, then Allah always guides him so he arrives at the absolute truth. This may have to be considered in the constructivist approach, where students should not be left too far in deviation when they are building their own knowledge. In this case, besides stimulating students to form their own knowledge, the main task of educators must also have the correct concept of the knowledge that is being constructed so they can guide the students in the accurate concept.
In relation to pedagogy, the story of the prophet Ibrahim does not only contain the principles of an applicative constructivism approach, but the story is presented in the Qur'an to teach Muslims to be able to optimize the ability graced by God to humans. In other words, humans must be able to digest and think through their minds when they see deviations that occur even though these deviations are considered true by the general public. In the context of Prophet Ibrahim is worshiping statues. In this case, Allah wants to teach humans through the story of the prophet Ibrahim to think correctly in purifying monotheism. And in essence, the truth in Islam is the truth that comes from divine revelation, so it does not conflict with human nature.

D. Conclusion
Constructivism approach is one approach in learning which is an implication of cognitive learning theory which sees the learning process from mental activity.
The constructivism approach prioritizes the activeness of students in building their own knowledge and also involves social interaction. In this approach, the educator is not tasked with transforming existing knowledge, but becomes a facilitator who helps direct students in the process of forming their knowledge. This is what Prophet Ibrahim AS did in forming the true concept of divinity by making the celestial objects a source of knowledge. Substantially, Prophet Ibrahim applied this constructivism approach in the process of seeking the true God, thus leading him to the final conclusion that God is the creator of the universe. This research is part of an effort to explore educational concepts in the Qur'an, which focuses on a constructivist approach which is a derivative of cognitive learning theory. It is hoped that the next researcher will explore the concept of derivatives from other cognitive learning theories sourced from the Qur'an such as discovery learning and meaningful learning so that the existence of the Qur'an as a source of knowledge remains relevant throughout time.