Digital Islamic Humanities

Digital Islamic Humanities

A Critique of the Epistemological Foundations of Digital Humanities from the Perspective of Islamic Epistemology

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Ali Saghiry
PhD Candidate in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Islamic Azad University, Gorgan Branch, Gorgan, Iran.
10.22034/disah.2026.2083257.1062
Abstract
Digital humanities, as an emerging field at the intersection of modern technologies and humanistic studies, is rapidly expanding and gradually establishing itself as an independent epistemic discourse. This discourse is grounded in epistemological presuppositions largely derived from the positivist, instrumentalist, and data-driven traditions of modern Western thought. Assumptions such as the primacy of data over meaning, the neutrality of tools, and the possibility of digitally modeling human cognitive structures lie at the core of its theoretical framework. However, a fundamental question arises as to the extent to which these foundations can be generalized to other epistemic systems, such as Islamic epistemology. Employing an analytical-comparative method and drawing on sources from Islamic philosophy—particularly within the framework of Sadrian Transcendent Theosophy—this article critically examines the epistemological foundations of digital humanities. Within this framework, knowledge is understood not as data-based representation, but as the existential and presential realization of the relationship between the knower and the known. Principles such as presential knowledge, the agency of the soul, the unity of knowledge and the knower, and the ontological gradations of cognition stand in fundamental tension with the foundations of digital humanities. The findings indicate that, in its current state, digital humanities suffers from serious epistemological deficiencies in its understanding of the nature of knowledge, the role of the subject, and the validity of meaning. Without a critical reassessment of these foundations, it cannot be effectively employed or indigenized within the Islamic intellectual tradition. In addition to critiquing existing assumptions, this article proposes new horizons for reconstructing digital humanities on the basis of Islamic epistemology and within the framework of Islamic humanities in a digital context.
Keywords
Digital Humanities
Islamic Epistemology
Presential Knowledge
Transcendent Theosophy
Philosophical Critique
Knowledge Localization
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Digital Islamic Humanities
Volume 1, Issue 2
November 2025