Scientific research in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is not an academic luxury or an activity measured by the number of published research papers. Humanities faculties, at the core of their mission, do not merely produce knowledge; they contribute to shaping the questions society ponders in its language, history, place, memory, identity, and future. Therefore, reading the research output of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Al al-Bayt University in the academic year 2025–2026 should not stop at the numerical total, despite the importance of the quantitative aspect, because the true value lies in the nature of the knowledge produced, the diversity of its fields, the level of its presence in scientific research, and its ability to build a cumulative body of research that can transform into an influential scientific school.

This reading is based on tracking the documented research output in the faculty's harvest for the academic year 2025–2026, while considering it in its context over the past three academic years. The goal is not to re-present what was stated in the annual reports, but rather to read the trends revealed by the research output, which are related to the nature of the research, its fields, its scientific presence, and what it might mean for the next stage.

The Faculty of Arts and Humanities places scientific research at the heart of its vision and mission. It aspires to excellence and leadership in its academic programs, scientific research, and community service. It seeks to produce and disseminate knowledge in the fields of languages, literature, and humanities. It also encourages scientific specializations and interdisciplinary studies. It seeks to build partnerships with scientific institutions. Accordingly, research in the faculty is viewed as a component of its scientific and academic identity; a faculty that aspires to leadership does not make publication an ultimate goal, because its ultimate goal is to have its own scientific question, to have its own intellectual presence, and to contribute to the development of its specializations.

When reading the research output in its context over the past three years, the research movement in the faculty appears clearer; its fields have expanded, its topics have diversified, and its presence in scientific publishing platforms has strengthened. This does not mean that the path is complete, and that its directions have become final, but it indicates a cumulative body of research that allows for a deeper question than the question of production volume: what does this output signify about the development of scientific research in the faculty?

In the academic year 2025–2026, the total research output presented by the fifty faculty members was 78 achievements, including 70 research papers published in scientific, peer-reviewed, and classified journals, and 8 solid scientific books. The number of works published and accepted in journals indexed in the Scopus database reached twenty research papers, including 17 published papers and three papers accepted for publication, and research published in journals classified within the first quartile (Q1) also appeared. The importance of these figures lies in their significance, as they indicate a growing presence in the internationally indexed scientific publishing arena, and this presence places research before a wider scientific community, and also places it before broader arbitration and competition standards. However, it does not, in itself, mean the completion of scientific presence, as international publication is an entry point to presence, not its ultimate goal.

The academic year 2025–2026 presents a positive picture of research activity in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at Al al-Bayt University. It witnessed extensive scientific production, strengthened presence in internationally indexed journals, expanded participation to include scientific projects and activities, and broadened research fields and tools. The deeper value of this output is that it reveals a movement that can be built upon.

Research topics have expanded. Its tools have diversified. A clearer international presence has emerged in some of its fields. And the potential for interaction between disciplines has begun to take shape. All of these are important indicators. But they also place greater responsibility on the next stage. The requirement is for the movement to transform into a path, for the path to transform into an identity, and for the identity to transform into an impact. And here the real challenge begins: how does research vitality transform into research power? And how does power transform into a sustainable scientific presence? And how does presence become a scientific and societal impact?

These are questions that do not concern a single academic year; they are questions for the entire next stage; the role of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities is not limited to transmitting knowledge, it contributes to its production, it reads humanity, understands society, preserves memory, interprets transformation, reads place, and opens up to the future. And when scientific research becomes an entrenched part of this vision, this research output each year becomes markers on a longer path, in which the faculty's research identity gradually takes shape, its scientific impact expands, and its contribution to knowledge production becomes clearer and more firmly established.

That is the ambition that should guide the next stage: for the faculty to move from research vitality to research power, from research power to its impact, and from its impact to a firm, balanced scientific presence.