Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

One of the problems with the term "methodology" is the diversity of its interpretations and the lack of clarity regarding its intended meaning. This problem is observable in the humanities and, consequently, in the Islamic humanities, with one of its consequences being the lack of proper scholarly communication. Aiming to develop the literature on methodology in the Islamic humanities, this research seeks to identify various and sometimes imprecise definitions of methodology in relevant books and articles, as well as to examine the implications of these definitions, particularly the methodological questions that are or can be raised in accordance with each definition. For this purpose, the qualitative content analysis method was employed, and ten pre-identified definitions of methodology in the humanities were considered as categories for classifying and identifying definitions in the Islamic humanities. The research results identified six definitions of methodology in this field of study: paradigmatic methodology, epistemology-based methodology, methodology of general methodological approaches, theory-based methodology, thinker-specific methodology, and methodology of applied methods. In addition, corresponding to each definition, the relevant methodological questions were identified and proposed.