Phd Topic? Please Help Me Choose One...

[SinfulSoul]

Salaam to all - am looking to embark on a PhD however I am a little confused with what Topic I should for for the during of my PhD ideally it must be Islamic related and something that will benefit all.

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated

Wasalaam

[Ethics]

Imam Mahdi A.S and Justice in Shia Islam

 

(wasalam)

[guest102317]

(bismillah)

 

(salam)

 

How the concept of the Prophet's character as delineated in the Koran, e.g. as "Mercy for the Worlds" or as Gentle and not Rough, has been understood throughout the centuries, beginning with the Sahaba up till the present day, and whether or not there has been evolution in this understanding, and in which direction has this evolution been.

I think clarifying the Prophet's character in a lucid and well-argued manner is one of the duties of Muslims today, and your PhD thesis could shed light on this from the angle of Koranic exegesis, notably the verses to which I have alluded.

 

(wasalam)

Edited February 16, 2015 by Jebreil

[Ghulam e Ale Mohammad]

Salvation of a drowning soul and embarking on the path of righteousness . 

 

 

Ya Ali Madad (a.s)

[enigma313]

Was Sufism a creation of the Abbasid Empire - that would be awesome!

[AnotherShepherd]

Was Sufism a creation of the Abbasid Empire - that would be awesome!

This!

[Joy]

Salaam to all - am looking to embark on a PhD however I am a little confused with what Topic I should for for the during of my PhD ideally it must be Islamic related and something that will benefit all.

Any ideas or suggestions will be appreciated

Wasalaam

You will deliver higher quality work if you are interested (or like) your PhD topic. Are you interested in the past or future of Islam? Are you interested in applying verses to present day Islam?  Are you interested in comparing different verses? Are you interested in proving Islam is a Religion of Peace or a Religion of War? Are you interested in areas of Islamic controversy? Ask many more questions! Your answers will determine your area of interest for your PhD topic. Explore many areas before you select a PhD topic.

 

Let me show you a practical example. Suppose you are interested in the Future of Islam. What is the Future of Islam? There are violent Muslim terrorists (like the black flag soldiers). Muslim terrorists claim their authority comes directly from the Quran. They quote the “Verse if the Sword” (Chapter 9,Verse 5). They claim the “Verse of the Sword” abrogates the peaceful verses (about 124 or more verses). Is that the Future of Islam? Or, maybe the Future of Islam is to abrogate the violent verses?

 

A very brief PhD Project Plan for the above paragraph. #1) Make a list of the peaceful verses; #2) Make a list of the violent verses; #3) Make a list of the abrogation verses; #4) Apply the abrogation verses to the Quran based on your Research and Analysis; #5) Give your conclusions or answers. (For example, answer these questions: Why did Allah put the abrogation verses in the Quran? What verses are abrogated? Why were they abrogated? What is the Future of Islam when those verses are abrogated? …and other questions.)

 

Next step. (Very Important!) Go to your teachers and religious leaders, show them your PhD Project Plan, and ask them for guidance and suggestions! When you do this, you will have more energy and confidence to work your PhD topic!

 

You have freedom to explore many areas for your PhD topic. I wish you great success for your PhD topic!

[SinfulSoul]

Thank you very much for all who replied and in particular 'JOY' for her detailed input.

 

Tbh the idea I had in mind was the following topic:

 

The Power of the Will – Possessed by All, Utilized by Few

How to Increase it in the 21^st Century for Managers through the eyes of Islam

I want to explore the above in light of Islam - Since there are many books & literature on Will Power in general - I will need to narrow down my topic - but the more I research the more I tend to find the above discussed maybe not together i.e. willpower + Islam + 21st Century + Managers (Leaders)

So still kind of confused - I am not really looking to do research that is only for Muslims but something that anybody can read and apply but through Islamic teachings - Hope this makes sense....

Look forward to more valuable input.

Wasalaam

[Hameedeh]

The Power of the Will – Possessed by All, Utilized by Few

This is a good title, but the word possessed has negative connotations. Look up in a thesaurus the synonyms for the word possessed: http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/possessed

Please consider this title: The Power of the Will – Available to All, Utilized by Few

[Haji 2003]

The trick with a PhD is to finish it as quickly as possible and pass with as few corrections needed.

 

So you should think about the following:

 

1. What is your supervisor's area of interest - where they can best guide you and as a result of which any examiners will think twice about criticising your work.

 

2. Choose a question about which you feel very comfortable in terms of approach, knowledge required etc. As mentioned above, it will have to interest you, because you'll be living with it for a few years.

 

3. Don't expect to make earth shattering discoveries - they take too long. But if the topic is too easy/mundane that may also not be good enough to pass.

 

4. Similarly, if you choose an area where there has been a lot of work done already, you may need to do something that is really esoteric in order to be seen to be making a contribution. By the same measure if it is an area where there has been very little done, there may be a good reason for this - there is little to say. So you need to strike a balance.

 

5. Think about your future plans as well. For example, how will the PhD fit into your future plans for teaching/research etc.? 

 

6. Spend some considerable time thinking about these and other issues - once you have committed yourself and started it becomes more and more expensive in terms of time spent to change the focus of your study. Make a grid analysing a number of different topics using the criteria above and others.

 

7. Above all remember that a simple change to the wording of a question can make a massive difference to the nature of the work that you would need to do. So even once you have decided on a broad topic area, you may need to refine the wording of the question perhaps by comparing the implications of different types of wording.

[mesbah]

I agree with haji^

Keep your favorite topic for the time you have more freedom.

[hasanhh]

(salam)

 

I do not think you are doing a PhD in Typewriting (had this in the 70s) or "keyboarding".

 

Do a very thorough, can-be-research, point, and then show how it relates to a larger more complex subject/model/

 

As in paragraphic outlines:

 

A] _______

        1]________

        2]________

                  MY PAPER

        3]________

B] ??_______

 

Hope this wasn't confusing. :donno:

[talib e ilm]

@Topic Creator:

Brother as for your area of interest I really appreciate you and want to suggest you to see Allama Iqbal`s work, for sure it helps you alot.

[repenter-gone4awhile]

Title suggestions:

 

1. "The delusion of e-ayatollahs"

2. "Read hadith for 2 weeks, now he is an expert"

3. "How to use fancy Islamic words to make yourself seem knowledgeable"

4. "How do all muslims have 10 phds in politics and Islamic sciences?"

[fromearthtodust]

Wsalam,

 

 

This may not be directly helpful as to what you should aim for- but give yourself time to do some reading within the area you are interested in - and perhaps you may find something you'd like to look into further. Also, while as Haji mentioned it may be a little difficult to stand out if it's a topic that's been done and dusted, you may still be able to approach it different to how most have approached it, and it may lead to intersting findings and conclusions. 

 

Also if you vaguely form a question in your mind, write it down in ten different ways, before you settle. It may help you to think of the question in different ways, and you'll perhaps get more than one or two ideas as to how you would like to approach it.

 

Best of luck. 

[Shabbar-E-Shabbir]

I echo what people say about doing something you are genuinely interested and curious about. The more questions arise within you the more deeper you will be inclined to look.

 

A suggestion on the other hand, talk about how the world has critiqued the Qur'an through the lens of modern Arabic. Qur'anic Arabic is on a league of its own, perhaps you can shed light on this?