When Galileo Galilei said that "the universe is written in the language of mathematics," he was not only speaking as a scientist, but also as someone who understood the universe. For him, the regular movement of celestial bodies, the beauty of geometric shapes, and the cycle of changing seasons were all subject to laws that humans could solve through symbols and numbers. Interestingly, Galileo's revolutionary views seemed to find an echo in the holy book of the Qur'an. Surah Yā Sīn verse 12 explicitly states, "And all things We have collected (aḥṣaynāhu) in a clear Master Book". The word "aḥṣaynāhu" which means calculating accurately and recording carefully, suggests that the universe is not a random entity, but rather a cosmic order that is neatly structured and documented in divine records. This is where the concept of "Prophetic Librarianship" comes in as a unique link between scientific reasoning and spiritual wisdom. More than just an information manager, a prophetic librarian becomes an interpreter of meaning—a figure who maintains divine order in the ever-expanding landscape of knowledge. A prophetic librarian is entrusted with the task of recording, selecting, and contextualizing knowledge. This task is not only technical, but also has profound ethical and transcendental dimensions.

Librarians must ensure that future generations do not lose the ability to "read" the kauniyah verses that contain signs of God's power that are spread across the universe. They need to ensure that knowledge does not stop at mere piles of data, but is transformed into deep understanding and true wisdom. Prophetic librarianship is a call of the times to manage knowledge with cosmic awareness and spiritual responsibility. Behind every number, data, and document that we manage today, lies the resonance of Galileo's views and a unified message of revelation:

"Everything has been written. It remains how we read it with faith and reason."

Another interesting perspective emerges from the world of bibliometrics, a quantitative study of publications. Here, the prophetic librarian can see traces of divine order manifest in the world of knowledge. Three well-known bibliometric laws—Zipf’s Law, Bradford’s Law, and Lotka’s Law—confirm that the production and distribution of human knowledge follows predictable mathematical patterns.

1. Zipf’s Law shows that the distribution of words in language, as well as topics in information, follows predictable centrality patterns.
2. Bradford’s Law reveals that the scientific literature is distributed in concentric zones. Some journals produce a lot of information, others much less.
3. Lotka’s Law illustrates that only a few authors are very productive, and the majority contribute only one or two works.

These three bibliometric laws affirm one fundamental point: that even in the world of human-made knowledge, there is inherent law, order, and wisdom. Therefore, for the prophetic librarian, bibliometrics is not just a statistical analysis tool, but rather a lens through which to capture the divine “rhythm” hidden in the world of knowledge.

Author: Dr. Ade Abdul Hak, S.Ag., S.S., M.Hum., CIQnR & Hilya Maylaffayza, S.IP.