Author Guidelines

Please read these guidelines carefully and prepare your manuscript with the official Al Furqan template. Manuscripts that do not follow the guidelines will be returned to the authors before review.

Download the article template (.docx)

1. Before you submit

  • The manuscript fits the Focus and Scope and is original, unpublished and not under review elsewhere.
  • It is written in good academic English. Authors who are not native speakers are encouraged to have the text professionally proofread.
  • The similarity index is no more than 20% (excluding references and quotations); see Screening for Plagiarism.
  • All authors have approved the submission and agreed to the Publication Ethics and Generative AI Policy.

2. Format

  • Microsoft Word (.docx), A4 paper, 2.5 cm margins, Times New Roman 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing (the template sets this for you).
  • Length: 4,000–8,000 words including abstract, notes and references.
  • Arabic script is typed in a Unicode Arabic font (e.g. Traditional Arabic or Amiri, 14 pt) and followed by transliteration and translation.
  • Tables and figures are numbered, titled, cited in the text and, for figures, supplied at 300 dpi or higher with permission for any copyrighted material.

3. Structure of the manuscript

  1. Title: concise and informative, no more than 15 words, without abbreviations.
  2. Authors: full names without academic titles; affiliation (department, institution, city, country); email address; ORCID iD for every author. Indicate the corresponding author. (Remove these from the file uploaded for review; enter them in the submission form.)
  3. Abstract: 150–250 words, one paragraph, covering the background, purpose, method, main findings and contribution, in English. No citations.
  4. Keywords: 3–5 keywords or phrases.
  5. Introduction: the problem, a critical review of previous studies, the research gap, the research question or argument, and the contribution (state of the art and novelty).
  6. Method: type of research, approach (e.g. philological, hermeneutical, historical, phenomenological), primary and secondary sources or data, and technique of analysis. It may be integrated into the introduction for purely textual studies.
  7. Results and Discussion: findings presented in logical subheadings and discussed critically against existing literature.
  8. Conclusion: answers the research question, states the theoretical or practical implications and limitations, and suggests further research. Written in paragraphs, not bullet points.
  9. Acknowledgements (optional) and Funding, if any.
  10. Author contributions (for multi-author papers) and Conflict of interest statement.
  11. References.

4. Citations and references

  • Use APA 7th edition in-text citations and reference list, managed with Mendeley, Zotero or EndNote.
  • A research article normally cites at least 30 references, mostly primary sources and journal articles, with a good share published in the last ten years and from reputable international journals.
  • Include a DOI for every reference that has one, written as a URL (https://doi.org/…).
  • Every in-text citation must appear in the reference list and vice versa. Cite only works you have read; avoid excessive self-citation.
  • Qur’anic verses are cited as (Q.S. al-Baqarah [2]: 255); classical works are cited from a named edition.

Examples

  • Journal article: Saeed, A. (2008). Some reflections on the contextualist approach to ethico-legal texts of the Quran. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 71(2), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X08000517
  • Book: Riddell, P. G. (2017). Malay court religion, culture and language: Interpreting the Qurʾān in 17th century Aceh. Brill.
  • Classical work: al-Ṭabarī, M. ibn J. (2001). Jāmiʿ al-bayān ʿan taʾwīl āy al-Qurʾān (A. al-Turkī, Ed.). Dār Hajar.

5. Transliteration

Arabic terms and names are transliterated following the Al Furqan transliteration guide (based on ALA-LC). Common English words of Arabic origin (Qur’an, hadith, sharia) need no diacritics.

6. Submission and review

  1. Register or log in, then submit via Make a Submission. Upload an anonymised manuscript and enter all author metadata, including ORCID.
  2. The editor screens the manuscript (scope, format, similarity) within about two weeks.
  3. Suitable manuscripts go to double-blind review by at least two reviewers (see Peer Review Process).
  4. Revisions are returned within the given deadline, with a response letter addressing each comment.
  5. Accepted articles are copyedited and proofread by the authors before publication. See Article Processing Charges.