Information behaviour in the Holy Quran: a textual analysis study of patterns and classifications in Surat Yusuf

Purpose The study examines information behaviour (IB) patterns within religious narrative texts. Using Surat Yusuf (Chapter 12) of the Holy Quran as a primary text, it analyses how information engagement, sharing and avoidance are narratively represented and examines how these behaviours align with and extend established IB theories. Design/methodology/approach The study employs an abductive qualitative content analysis (CA) of a single text to examine IB practices articulated in Surat Yusuf of the Holy Quran. The analysis incorporates quantitative procedures, including frequency counts and inter-coder reliability measures. Findings The CA of Surat Yusuf identifies 47 verses containing explicit information-related content, yielding 80 attributes. The findings distinguish information sources (divine, oral, written and empirical) from information behaviours, which cluster into seven categories: information seeking (n = 11), use (n = 7), avoidance (n = 4), dissemination (n = 4), awareness (n = 3), sharing (n = 23) and knowledge provenance (n = 4). Information sharing was the most frequent category (23 attributes) and included both (1) human social exchange (e.g. gossip and consultation) and individual IB and (2) divine information transmission and sharing (e.g. revelation and non-revelatory modes such as visions and dreams). Divine information channels were predominantly one-way transmissions within the analysed text and involved the transmission of knowledge and wisdom, with a significant presence of deferred disclosure and long-term outcomes. Practical implications Theoretically, this study introduces a classification of information sharing and behaviour patterns derived from the Holy Quran, thereby creating a bridge between religious – particularly Islamic – textual analysis and IB frameworks and potentially enriching existing models. Originality/value The study provides a novel interdisciplinary application of contemporary IB theories to the Quranic narrative, an area rarely investigated in information science research. It further advances understanding of divine information engagement by systematically analysing non-human-centred epistemic practices within religious texts.