Is (Hawza) Capable of Producing a System of Islamic Human Sciences?
We are not at the stage of claiming that a complete system of Islamic human sciences has been fully realized; rather, we are at the stage of criticizing the distorted foundations of modern sciences, highlighting the strength of the Islamic vision of humanity—especially from the perspective of “Authentic Muhammadan Islam”—and opening the path for long-term scientific accumulation within a healthy academic environment. For indeed, a good seed is one that yields a pleasant fragrance in the near future.
1. What precisely do you mean by the term “Islamic Human Sciences”?
By “Islamic Human Sciences,” I mean the attempt to construct knowledge regarding human beings, society, behavior, history, culture, and all human phenomena based on an Islamic worldview of humanity, existence, the universe, and nature—not merely adding a verse or a Hadith to an already existing human science.
The fundamental difference is that Islam does not view the human being as a purely material entity independent of its Creator, nor as a mere product of environment, economics, genetics, or social structure. Rather, it views man as a created, limited being, inherently in need of God, possessing immense material and spiritual dimensions, and capable of both transcendence and decline.
Hence, the “Islamization” of human sciences does not mean decorating Western sciences with religious texts. Instead, it entails reconsidering the scientific and academic methodology used to understand the image of the human being itself, as well as the concepts, classifications, and objectives upon which human sciences are built.
However, I do not claim that an Islamic alternative is ready today. We are in a foundational phase. One of its goals is to discover where certain modern concepts contradict the Islamic worldview, and to establish a specialized social and scientific environment—built either within the Islamic state or Islamic civilization—safeguarded by sound reason, religion, values, ethics, divine revelation, and divine guidance. After that, we leave the matter to scholars and specialists in each discipline over time and through intellectual interaction with others, carrying out the task of building methodologies and codifying more mature scientific alternatives and models.
2. Where does the fundamental problem lie in Western Human Sciences?
The problem does not necessarily lie in all the findings reached by modern human sciences, as they contain significant knowledge achievements that cannot be ignored and upon which contemporary scholars have been raised. Rather, it lies more deeply in certain philosophical and anthropological assumptions that have been generalized across broad areas of these fields.
Examples include:
The impact of colonial backgrounds on understanding peoples within the social sciences.
The influence of a mindset driven by hegemony and control over individuals in interpreting human actions, particularly in psychology.
The influence of financial elites and power politics on scientific directions, elevating certain hypotheses to confirmed theories.
The overgeneralization of specific, context-dependent conclusions to all human beings, all religions, and all phenomena.
When the image of the human being at the core of research is materialistic, individualistic, relativistic, or detached from divine purpose, it subsequently affects how behavior, ethics, family, gender, religion, society, and even the meanings of freedom and happiness are interpreted. Certain results may be accurate within their empirical scope, while their philosophical interpretation or absolute generalization to all humanity remains subject to objection.
3. How should a Muslim researcher approach Western Human Sciences?
I do not believe the solution is absolute rejection, nor do I believe it is uncritical acceptance. The most productive stance is to benefit from scientific achievements while examining their premises, methodologies, and outcomes to uncover areas of deviation, error, or bias.
We are not faced with only two binary choices: either accepting Western human sciences in their entirety or dismantling them completely.
A Muslim researcher can utilize statistical tools, field methodologies, sociological studies, and accumulated data and experiments, while asking critical questions:
Is the interpretation given to these data the only possible one?
Do the classifications and concepts used truly represent human beings across all times and places?
From this point, the process of reconstructing certain branches can begin—not through a prior theoretical decree, but through the interaction of Muslim scholars and field specialists with both the Islamic heritage and modern knowledge. Naturally, building a stable, integrated scientific environment requires institutions and an Islamic state capable of supporting scientific research and providing an ecosystem that allows this project to accumulate across generations.
4. What is the methodology for producing knowledge in Islamic Human Sciences?
At this stage, I see no need to rush into establishing a closed, “definitive methodology.” It is sufficient for us first to define the general orientation: the Quran, the Sunnah, reason, empirical observation, and modern scientific data are all tools and sources that must enter the research process, with a clear understanding of the function and limits of each.
The Quran and Sunnah provide the researcher with a comprehensive view of humanity, existence, values, and purpose.
Reason serves as an instrument for comprehension, deduction, and critique.
Empiricism, observation, and scientific data are tools for studying external and human phenomena.
As for detailed models, theories, and classifications beyond these, I leave them to historical interaction among scholars within each discipline.
In my view, what matters now is critiquing Western human sciences, identifying their weak points, and discovering and highlighting the strengths of the Islamic worldview, while clarifying Islam’s objections to certain modern concepts, divisions, and trends. Islamic human sciences reject treating all religions equally, recognizing a distinction between authentic truth-based religion and altered or corrupted religion resulting from human intervention. They reject treating all human beings as identical, as there is a fundamental difference between a human being and the “perfected human” (al-Insān al-Kāmil). They also reject treating all historical stages equally, distinguishing between origin, destination, and intermediate phases, while rejecting hasty generalizations. Afterward, scholars can develop the necessary theories, methodologies, and models over time.
5. How can we maintain scientific standards so the project does not turn into mere textual citation?
This is a paramount issue. If research becomes a mere collection of Quranic verses and narrations to prove predetermined conclusions, we will not have established a human science in the proper scientific sense.
Therefore, we must accept the genuine achievements of modern human sciences, including Western ones, studying them with seriousness and humility. We must then examine points of error, deviation, bias, unjustified generalization, as well as the pitfalls of relativism and constant skepticism. The shift from one theory to its opposite under the guise of scientific progress and integration, along with the influence of money and epistemological politics on universities, research centers, and laboratories, are issues that “Authentic Muhammadan Islam” cannot accept.
A Muslim researcher can employ hypotheses, analytical papers, field studies, statistics, comparative analysis, quantitative and qualitative methods, and data analysis for cross-sectional, phase-based, temporary, or partial studies—all while retaining the right to critique the broader concepts underlying some of these methods. Precisely here, the Islamic project can become a genuine scientific dialogue rather than a parallel religious discourse running alongside modern sciences.
6. What has been achieved so far, and where do the weaknesses lie?
I believe that the righteous scientific seed has been planted in the Islamic Republic of Iran. There exists a broad foundation of intellectual, philosophical, jurisprudence-principles (usūlī), and gnostic (ʿirfānī) insights dating back to the martyr Sayyid Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, which can serve as the groundwork for a more advanced stage. Furthermore, the repression and financial scandals witnessed in American universities during the atrocities in Gaza are sufficient reason for us to move forward with steady confidence and pride. It suffices to recall when Donald Trump came into power seeking a “great and strong America,” he disregarded many of the gender and sexuality theories upon which billions of dollars had been spent.
However, our seed has not yet grown into a full tree. The main problem is that efforts often remain scattered among individuals, isolated centers, and fragmented projects, whereas science requires focus, long-term institutional accumulation, integrated specializations, schools of thought, research centers, and succession across generations of scholars.
Therefore, I hope that a broad Islamic civilizational environment will emerge in the future, capable of nurturing this project so that ideas transition from individual initiatives to established scientific institutions. What is required today is the cultivation of scholars—including polymaths and prodigies across various disciplines—who possess real knowledge of the sciences of their era, while simultaneously recognizing the flaws and deviations in certain Western concepts and believing in Islam’s ability to offer a deeper scientific vision of humanity.
7. What is the role of the Islamic Seminary (Hawza)?
I do not believe the Hawza should rush to declare a complete system of Islamic human sciences.
The priority, in my view, is to critique Western human sciences scientifically, define essential points of divergence, and establish a “unified scientific movement” around specific core issues and shared fundamentals, supported by broad global media coverage.
A high volume of isolated articles and individual ideas is no longer sufficient to influence the modern world. It may be better to present a single, robust idea and organize seminars, conferences, and research circles around it for years until a large body of scholars engages with it. What is needed is not just the dissemination of ideas, but the formation of a global scientific and intellectual current capable of producing a tangible impact.
Here, the Seminary in Holy Qom—given its accumulated knowledge, historical status, and experience in addressing intellectual issues—can play a vital role. This must be done without departing from the traditional strengths of the Hawza, namely jurisprudence (fiqh), its principles (usūl), and traditional scholarly heritage, but rather leveraging them to build a new epistemological extension. We must also remember that Muslim scholars, physicians, and technology experts possess great capacity to influence and shape a thought movement in today’s human sciences, including the Islamic perspective.
8. How can Shiite Seminaries worldwide cooperate?
The principle is simple: we need a cross-border scientific network linking seminaries, centers, and researchers across Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Africa, Europe, and beyond. This network does not need to begin as a massive institution.
It can start with a single scientific idea, followed by a series of seminars, a conference, specialized research groups, a journal or digital platform, and scientific grants or awards, eventually evolving into shared academic objectives.
The essential goal is to shift from fragmented efforts to accumulation, coordination, and focus. If a researcher in psychology, another in sociology, a third in economics, a fourth in education, and a fifth in philosophy all work in isolation, their impact remains limited. However, if they coalesce around a shared vision and a specific scientific issue, the nucleus of a true school of thought can emerge and form a global movement. Avoiding the expansion of Islamic human sciences beyond what is practical and scientifically useful at each stage is crucial.
9. Which issues should be prioritized today?
There are numerous pressing issues: technological chaos, the loss of human direction, the rapid pace of scientific advancements, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), massive digital transformations aimed at dominance, the erosion of family values, the importance of human-centric education, human identity, sound human behavior, directed and dominant media, education, colonial economics, and the social impacts of technology.
However, I believe the most critical issue is not for the Hawza to select dozens of topics and engage in them in a scattered manner. Rather, it should work on formulating an Islamic vision capable of assisting society and the Islamic state in creating a unified scientific movement to evaluate academic pathways and correct scientific deviations.
Human sciences are not merely theoretical knowledge about human beings; they have direct implications for education, social policy, family structure, learning, economics, and technology. Hence, as the Islamic state and its institutions develop, the need increases for human sciences capable of helping them understand humanity and society, thereby guiding policies toward a more just, dignified, and balanced life.
10. How do we transition from critique to producing theories and models?
I believe this transition does not occur by theoretical decree, but through cumulative progress.
For instance, there are many terms synonymous with Islamic human sciences, such as the “grounding of human sciences” (taʾṣīl al-ʿulūm al-insāniyya), “human sciences from an Islamic perspective,” and others. I have found “Islamic Human Sciences” to be the most effective term for fostering a rigorous academic discourse, whereas fragmentation among varied terminology dilutes this great idea.
The first step is not to declare: “We have completed Islamic Psychology” or “We have completed Islamic Sociology”—that would be premature.
The first step is to unify shared, foundational terminology and concepts, clearly identifying where we differ from the prevailing premises in modern human sciences and what the Islamic vision uniquely offers.
Next, we select a single, specific issue and establish a scientific study circle around it comprising seminary scholars and academic specialists. We examine Western literature, available data, and empirical studies, extract relevant insights from Islamic heritage, and then allow researchers the space to develop hypotheses and models open to discussion and testing.
This is where accumulation begins. We must nurture scholars capable of safeguarding these concepts and build institutions that allow them to flourish. The tree may require decades or generations to grow tall and sturdy. This is not a weakness in the project; it is the very nature of building sciences and civilizations.
Muhammad Korani
