A suitable and effective research methodology serves as a primary guide for humankind in understanding and uncovering the nature of existence, the truths of "the world and humanity," and their interconnections, ultimately facilitating humanity's journey toward higher purpose and ensuring their lasting well-being and eternity. Unfortunately, in recent centuries, Western culture, having distanced itself from "divine doctrines" and adopting a strictly materialistic approach to "the world and humanity" that views human beings through an animalistic lens, has established a "particularist" research method—rooted in "sensory, empirical, instinctual, and statistical" approaches—within educational and research institutions globally. This methodology excels in identifying the "material and formal" causes of natural phenomena, enabling the Industrial Revolution and fostering "power and wealth" for Western countries, often at the cost of "exploitation, colonization, and enslavement of other nations." However, these advancements have simultaneously led to "alienation and dehumanization of people worldwide," creating environmental crises, class conflicts, depression, hopelessness, and rising suicide rates, among other issues. In contrast, the Almighty, through the mission of all His prophets, has highlighted the unique "rational and spiritual" attributes of humans that distinguish them from animals. By providing infallible sources and foundations—namely, the "Quran and the traditions of the infallibles"—He has introduced a research approach that emphasizes the "holistic and all-encompassing Islamic" methodology, which is especially oriented toward explaining humanity’s "elevated and eternal journey" and the achievement of a virtuous life. This article evaluates, compares, and contextualizes the above two methods by employing "logical reasoning and interpretive" techniques based on the infallible Islamic sources of the "Quran and authentic traditions." Reforming research methodology courses in universities is a critical and essential step toward the Islamization of universities, aligning with the Supreme Leader's strategic vision of "establishing a new Islamic civilization with an Islamic-Iranian identity" and avoiding the "translation and imitation" of Western culture, which is incomplete, deviant, anti-humanistic, and counter-evolutionary.
