Islamic Research Methodology in Contemporary Research: Is it Applicable?

Abstract

Islam motivates its followers to always ponder, seek answers and do research work or scientific studies in life. In fact, the primary objective of Islamic research itself is to find the important truth about a matter and recommend a solution to the issue centred on Islamic law and principles. Numerous issues and dilemmas have lately emerged in the community that necessitate scientific research, particularly in the social sciences. To undertake this scientific research, however, most current Islamic academics are more likely to use Western research methodology, which are believed to have paradigms, traits, and methods that are at conflict with the Islamic worldview. This trend has motivated some Islamic scholars to adopt the concept of Islamization to create distinct models of current Islamic research. As a result, this study aims to examine the importance of using the notion of Islamization in contemporary Islamic research using numerous models offered by selected Islamic academics. This study takes a qualitative approach, in which data is gathered from secondary sources via literature reviews and processed using content analytic methods. The study’s findings revealed that each paradigm has its own set of strengths and weaknesses when applied to Islamic studies. Furthermore, this research discovered that Western research procedures employed in the social sciences can be applied to support contemporary Islamic research in order to enhance the quality of the research process and outcomes. Technically, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge on the use of the idea of Islamization in contemporary Islamic research methodology. In practise, this research will lead to more research into contemporary Islamic research methodology and the concept of Islamization of knowledge in the field of Islamic studies by contemporary Islamic academics.