THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

May Allah forgive us our shortcomings and accept our little effort...

We thank almighty Allah for giving us life today to embark on our workshop.We pray to almighty Allah to give us the capability of putting what we are going to learn into practice.Asindicated, our topic is the research methodology in dawa. Man’s curiosity is the origin of all human knowledge. Knowledge refers to bodies of facts and hypotheses that enable one to understand phenomena and to solve problems. Islam actively immensely encourages Muslims to seek knowledge. The Almighty Allah in almost every page of the holy Quran praises knowledge and invites people to seek and learn the truth. Seeking knowledge in Islam is an obligation upon every Muslim. Therefore, a mature Muslim must personally seek the truth in the matter of principles in his/her religion.

Nonetheless, in early times a large body of human understanding was based on unsystematic, unreliable and unverified sources. The inadequacies of accumulating knowledge through these sources forced scholars to develop what is presently known as ‘scientific methods in research.’

‘Research Methods’: Etymology and Definition

The term ‘research’ in English is from a French term ‘recercher’ to seek. The Oxford English dictionary defines research as: “the study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusion.”

The term used in Arabic is ‘al Bahth’ which means to search. It is also called ‘al-Tahqiq’ which is derived (driven) from the root ‘Haqqaqa’, to discover and confirm the truth. Therefore, research is a diligent and systematic inquiry or investigation into a subject in order to discover a truth or revise facts.

What is a ‘Research Method’?      

By a research method we mean the logic of research. Formal logic is the methodology of correct thinking, which when utilized protects the mind from incorrect thinking. Similarly a research method is the logic of correct research.  Thus, formal logic is the method of correct thinking, and applied logic is the method of correct research.

 Now let's see, Who is a researcher?

A learned person is not necessarily a researcher. Often we meet people with a vast amount of information on various topics. They look like a mobile encyclopedia. However, they don’t have any systematic approach to acquiring knowledge about any topic. Thus, if they are asked to deliver a lecture or write an article on a particular topic they fail.

Francis Bacon, English philosopher of the 17th century says in his book ‘The New Method’, that scholars with no systematically attained knowledge are like ants who collect data together in heaps without ever giving a unifying structure to them whereas philosophers are like spiders spinning out their own ideas in their webs.

It is only a true researcher who is like a bee extracting matter from the flowers of different gardens and fields but works and fashions it to produce a sweet honey.

A researcher must enjoy the following characteristics:

• Knowledgeable: A researcher must have a solid, general knowledge about the topic he researches about. For instance, if he wishes to conduct research on a particular jurisprudential topic he must have a fair knowledge of Fiqh and its related sciences. He should also be familiar with jurisprudential terminologies to understand and interpret jurisprudential texts.A researcher needs to be aware of the historical background of the topic and research previously conducted. This will help the researcher to avoid duplication on the one hand whilst expanding the scope of the previous researches and clarifying their validity.
• Experienced: driving skills and so is researching. The more you conduct the research the more skillful you natural become.
   
• Sharp: A researcher is sharp and insightful. He is very aware of what happens around him. For instance, for several centuries millions of people had observed apples falling from an apple tree but they were oblivious to the force that caused it to fall. It was only Newton whose sharp mind noted the law of gravity by observing the fall of a mere apple.
• Free-thinker:  A researcher is free from his personal social beliefs and superstitions. When conducting research he independently examines the validity of every statement irrespective of the beliefs of his society.
   
• Considers the speech not the speaker: Often renowned scholars makes false statements just as laymen utter the truth. The status of the speaker does not make a speech necessarily true or false. The Imams of Ahlul-Bayt (a.s), though not very often, quoted poems of Jahiliyyah.
  In the past, our Muslim scholars have been known to criticise an opinion, however they would not mention the name of the scholar, especially if that scholar was one of their contemporaries. The scholars consider mentioning the names unimportant as it was the statement that had to be examined not the speaker. This also avoided belittling the scholar.

• Brave: Often the result of research is contrary to the opinion of the mainstream academic society. In order to freely express the findings of his research, a researcher must be brave and confident. A scientific research is based on compelling evidence, not the approval of the majority.
   
• Fair: A researcher is fair in his judgment. When examining a statement he considers all its possible meanings.  His quotation of other opinions is not limited to disagreements and criticism. He also acknowledges the interesting findings of other scholars.
   
• Honest: A researcher must be honest when quoting from other sources. An incomplete quotation or misquotation of an author is an academic dishonesty. Plagiarism is also a serious offence in today’s academic world and is a clear sign of dishonesty.
  Guidelines to Islamic Studies Research Methodology
  Islamic Studies comprises six major themes, which are Quran Studies, Hadith Studies, Usul al-Din (principles of faith), Fiqh (Jurisprudence) Sirah (biography) and civilization.
  For the benefit of researchers, the field can be categorized into four branches of scholarship. The first branch studies the general laws and rulings concerning the Islamic legal provisions on matters of Ibadat. Its major areas of study are the five pillars of Islam, dealing with such concepts as Shariah law, economic relations and family laws. The second is that of Usul al-Din, which studies matters of belief. Their major areas of study are six articles of faith, also studies al-Milalwa al-Nihal, a comparative study of various groups, sects as well as other creeds other than Islam. The unseen matters such as Day of Resurrection, appearance of Isa, Mahdi, the earth beast, Gog and Mogog are also studied within this branch of scholarship. The third branch is served as the instruments and means to the Shariah provisions, supporting or allowing better understanding of the Islamic Studies subjects. These subjects are the means through which accuracy and precision of Shariah provisions is known. It studies subjects such as Usul al-Fiqh (Principles of Jurisprudence), classical Arabic language, Morphology, Sirah, Science of Hadith, Sciences of the Quran and Tajweed. The last branch is concerned with civilization, which addresses questions such as Muslim political thought, economics, education and other social aspects of human life.
  A close study of these branches of scholarship suggest the Islamic Studies to be classified into three areas of research, all of which is characterized with peculiar method and procedure, only in some points do they inter-weave.
  The first requires the methodology of Fuqaha’ (Jusrists), discussing al-Ahkam al-Shar’iyyah (legal laws), dealing with al-Ayat al-Ahkam (Quran legal studies), al-AhadithAhkam (Hadith legal Studies) and then the contributions of the Jurists in the field. Researchers in this area emerge as a jurist, and the research documents produced contain legal matters and interpretations. It may not therefore be valid here to use the methodology developed by social science scholars, since the research under study is analyzing all relevant data in relation to the Quran and Hadith. The researchers in this area should consult al-Risala of Imam al-Shafi’i (2010), who laid down the basis and the method to interpret the Quran and Sunnah, understanding al-Am (General term) and al-Khas (Specific), Mutlaq (Absolute) and Muqayyad (conditional), Nasikh and al-Munsukh (abrogated and abrogated verses) and other concepts of that nature.
  Imam al-Shafi’i emphasized that understanding the Quran requires Arabic language; a researcher therefore needs it should he succeed. Meanwhile, the researcher uses the guidance of the Quran and Sunnah as the basis of legal Qiyas(analogical deduction), and in the case of Darurah (Necessity or Compulsion), he resorts to the principles of Maslaha(public interest).
  The second area of research is that of Usul al-Din, also called Tawhid. Researchers in this area are interpreters of the Quran and Sunnah on matters related to the fundamentals of faith. They use the methodology of jurist in their interpretations and analyses, but are not compelled to adopt the principles of Qiyas and Maslaha.
  The third area of research within the domain of Islamic Studies is the field of Hadith and Civilization. This area comprises various fields of Hadith Sciences, Muslims contributions in politics, economics, history and other similar subjects. The methodology valid for this area is that of Hadith Scholars, who are not interpreters of the Quran and Sunnah, but prepare the material for interpreters of divine revelation. They do that by determining the validity and reliability of reports or works upon which legal judgment is based. The methodology is also valid in ascertaining historical facts, establishing links and value of it. Ibnkhaldun (2010) in his critical analysis on the mistakes committed by researchers in the fields of history mentioned things such as inability of the researcher to fully understand the rules governing the transformation of human society, inability to place events in its real context and over confidence in And over confidence in conducting such research and analysis.
  Meanwhile we having done a bit of what I prepared with regards to this valuable topic May Allah help us to put what we've learnt into practice
  Asalaamualaikum brethren.