Author Guidelines

Journal of Qur’anic Legal Studies and Exegesis

The Author Guidelines of the Journal of Qur’anic Legal Studies and Exegesis have been developed in accordance with international academic publishing standards and the scholarly orientation of the journal. Authors are strongly encouraged to read these guidelines carefully before submitting their work for editorial consideration. The journal publishes original and high-quality research focusing on Qur’anic legal interpretation, Islamic legal thought, legal hermeneutics, maqāṣid al-sharī‘ah, uṣūl al-fiqh, and interdisciplinary approaches to Qur’anic law and exegesis.

Publishing an article in the Journal of Qur’anic Legal Studies and Exegesis means that the author(s) retain copyright of the published work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The journal applies the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited. Authors are therefore allowed to archive, distribute, and share their published work for academic and non-commercial purposes.

Shortcuts

Article Submission Overview
Article Preparation
Article Structure
References and Citation Style
Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Materials
Submission Checklist

Please

Authors are expected to read the Focus and Scope carefully to ensure that the submitted article is relevant to the scholarly orientation of the journal. All submissions should be prepared using the official Microsoft Word template provided by the journal. Authors must ensure that issues related to publication ethics, originality, plagiarism, authorship, citation format, and research integrity have been properly addressed prior to submission. All listed authors must approve the final submitted version. Authors are also encouraged to provide a brief academic biography during the submission process.

Article Submission Overview

Types of Publications

The Journal of Qur’anic Legal Studies and Exegesis only accepts original research articles. The journal does not publish book reviews, review essays, commentaries, or non-research submissions. Submitted articles must demonstrate strong scholarly contribution, analytical depth, methodological clarity, and relevance to the study of Qur’anic legal interpretation and Islamic legal thought.

The recommended article length is approximately 6000–8000 words, including references, tables, and notes. Articles submitted to the journal must not have been previously published or simultaneously submitted to another publication.

Submission Process

All articles must be submitted electronically through the Open Journal System (OJS) of the journal. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all submitted information and confirming that all co-authors have approved the article. Authors must register and log into the journal submission system before uploading the article and supplementary files.

Accepted File Formats

Articles must be prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format using the official journal template. Authors are encouraged to insert tables, figures, and illustrations directly into the main text near their first citation. Any identifying information related to the authors should be removed from the file prior to peer review to maintain the integrity of the double-blind review process.

Supplementary files may be submitted in common non-proprietary formats where necessary.

Article Preparation

General Considerations

Research articles submitted to the Journal of Qur’anic Legal Studies and Exegesis should consist of the following components:

Title
Author Information and Affiliations
Abstract and Keywords
Introduction
Method
Results and Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgments (if applicable)
References

Arabic transliteration must be applied consistently throughout the article. Authors are encouraged to follow internationally recognized transliteration standards.

Front Matter

Title

The title must be concise, specific, and academically relevant, clearly reflecting the focus and contribution of the study. Authors are encouraged to avoid abbreviations, overly general titles, or rhetorical expressions. The title should be written in English and contain approximately 15–20 words.

Author Information and Affiliations

Authors’ full names must be written without academic titles. Institutional affiliations and countries must be clearly stated. One corresponding author must be identified along with an active email address.

Abstract

The abstract must function as a complete and concise miniature of the article, presenting the research problem as introduced in the Introduction, the methodological approach employed in the Method section, the principal findings derived from the Results, and the core scholarly contribution developed in the Discussion and Conclusion. The abstract should provide a coherent overview of the entire study without introducing new information that is not discussed in the main text. Authors are expected to briefly explain the background of the study, research objective, methodological approach, major findings, and theoretical contribution of the research. The abstract must be written in a single paragraph consisting of approximately 200–250 words. Authors must also include 3–5 keywords written in lowercase and separated by commas.

Keywords

Keywords should represent the principal concepts discussed in the article and support indexing and discoverability in international academic databases. Authors are encouraged to use specific and discipline-relevant keywords.

Research Article Sections

Introduction

The introduction should systematically position the study within a broader scholarly and socio-intellectual context by moving from general discussion to specific research problems. Authors are expected to explain the broader research context, including relevant global or contemporary issues, empirical realities, and the significance of the topic within Qur’anic legal studies and related disciplines. The introduction must clearly identify the specific research problem, theoretical tension, interpretive debate, methodological limitation, or unresolved scholarly issue addressed in the study. Authors are required to provide a concise and critical review of relevant previous studies in order to position the article within existing scholarship by synthesizing major scholarly trends, approaches, and debates rather than listing studies individually. A clear and explicit research gap whether conceptual, methodological, empirical, interpretive, or contextual must be identified as the principal justification for the study. The introduction must also formulate focused research questions and clearly state the research objectives. Authors should briefly introduce the main theoretical framework, concepts, or analytical perspectives employed in the study and explain their relevance to the research problem. The introduction should conclude with a concise statement emphasizing the academic significance, theoretical contribution, and explicit novelty of the study as its principal scholarly contribution.

Method

The method section must provide sufficient detail to allow the study to be understood and academically evaluated. Authors should clearly describe the research design, whether qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, as well as the data sources or participants involved in the study. The section should explain the techniques used for data collection, the analytical framework or interpretation method employed, and the overall research procedures. Any modifications to established methods must be clearly justified. Authors are expected to demonstrate methodological transparency and ensure that the selected method is appropriate for addressing the research objectives.

Results and Discussion

The Results and Discussion section constitutes the analytical core of the article and must be organized systematically in each sub-section. Authors should begin each discussion with a clear topic sentence presenting the principal finding or argument. Findings must be supported by specific data, textual evidence, or documented sources with appropriate citations and should be analyzed using the theoretical framework introduced earlier. The discussion must critically engage with previous studies and demonstrate whether the findings support, refine, or challenge existing theories and scholarship. Authors are also expected to explain the theoretical implications and academic significance of the findings. Each sub-section should conclude with a concise statement reinforcing the principal analytical point. Tables, figures, and illustrations should be integrated within this section and properly captioned.

Conclusion

The conclusion must provide concise and direct answers to the research objectives and synthesize the principal findings into a coherent academic argument. Authors should highlight the theoretical contribution, academic significance, broader implications of the study, and possible directions for future research. The conclusion must not merely repeat the abstract or restate descriptive findings and should not introduce new arguments or additional data.

Acknowledgements
(If applicable) dedicated to any parties who contributed significantly to the production/preparation of the article. This may include research grant sponsors/donors, initial readers, advisors, research assistants, collaborators, etc.

References and Citation Style

References must follow APA 7th Edition and demonstrate strong engagement with international scholarship. Authors are expected to use recent and relevant scholarly sources, particularly peer-reviewed journal articles. Articles should contain approximately 15–25 references, with at least 70% derived from journal articles, preferably from Scopus-indexed or other reputable international journals.

Authors are strongly encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley or Zotero to ensure consistency and accuracy in citation formatting.

Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Materials

Figures, tables, charts, and illustrations should be placed near their first citation in the article and numbered consecutively. Each table and figure must include a concise title and explanatory caption. High-resolution images are strongly recommended to ensure publication quality.

Supplementary materials may be submitted separately if necessary. Authors are encouraged to make supporting datasets available whenever ethically and legally possible in order to promote research transparency and scholarly reproducibility.