Guide for Authors

The Journal of interdisciplinary Qur’anic Studies welcomes scholarly articles that solve specific new issues and contain innovative research results, on all aspects of Qur'anic studies associated with different fields of science and humanities.

  • Submissions should be of between 4,000 and 7,000 words in length.
  • Articles that the editor judge to have merit will be sent anonymously to two referees, and authors may be asked for changes and adjustments in the light of the referees’ reports.
  • The editorial board reserves the right to make reasonable modifications in wording.
  • A copy right release and conflict of interest disclosure form must be signed by all authors to be legally responsible towards the Journal ethics and privacy policy.
  • Authors should follow the journal style thoroughly:

Abstract

The abstract is a brief summary of the entire study. Aim to keep it between 150 and 300 words, ensuring it provides a snapshot of the paper’s content. It should include: The purpose of the research; The methodology used; Key findings or results; The main conclusions and implications.

Keywords: Select 3 to 7 relevant keywords or phrases that capture the main topics of your paper. These will help in indexing and searching for your paper in databases.

1. Introduction

The introduction in an academic paper serves several key purposes. It contextualizes the research by providing background information and situating the study within its broader field. It defines the specific research problem or question, explaining its significance, and states the aims and any hypotheses being tested. Overall, it establishes the foundation for the study, engaging the reader while clarifying the research focus and its importance.

Figures and Tables:

  • All figures and tables must have numbered captions.
  • References to figures and tables in the text should use their respective numbers (e.g., see Figure 1).
  • Ensure that you cite the sources for any external figures or tables used.

2. Literature Review

In this section you should contextualize your research within existing literature by discussing relevant theories, findings, and gaps. Organize sources thematically or chronologically, and critically analyze previous research rather than just summarizing it.

3. Methodology

Explain how the research was conducted, including design, participants, procedures, and analytical methods. Be detailed enough for replication, ensuring you justify your choices and explain any limitations.

Note: Academic papers can adopt various standard structures depending on the discipline, the type of research, and the intended audience. While these structures provide a framework for organizing academic papers, it is important to note that flexibility is often necessary. Authors should adapt their structure to best fit their research goals and the conventions of their specific field. Here are two of the most common structures used in scientific writing:

3.1. IMRaD Structure

The most common structure for empirical research articles, especially in the sciences. Components:

  • Introduction: Introduces the research question and significance.
  • Methods: Describes how the research was conducted.
  • Results: Presents findings without interpretation.
  • Discussion: Interprets results and discusses implications.

3.2. The Three-Part Essay Structure

Common in the humanities and social sciences, this structure is more flexible and narrative-driven. Components:

  • Introduction: Sets the context and objectives.
  • Body: It develops the question “What is the topic about?”. The body of the article gives definitions, classifications, explanations, arguments, contrasts, examples, and evidence. In the context of research in Quranic studies, scholars often follow a format that prioritizes an in-depth exploration of specific themes or concepts rather than a strict adherence to the conventional structure. For instance, a paper may center on a detailed analysis of a particular Quranic verse or theme, organizing its content around significant topics such as "Interpretations of Specific Verses," "Historical Contexts," or "Comparative Analysis with Other Texts."
  • Conclusion: Summarizes findings and highlights implications or future directions.

4.

4.1.

4.1.1.

5. Conclusion

The conclusion summarizes the main points and findings of the research. In this section, authors should discuss the implications of their findings, highlighting their relevance to the field, while avoiding the introduction of new information or data. They should also suggest areas for future research.

Acknowledgements

In this section, the author expresses gratitude to those who contributed to the research in some way but whose contributions do not qualify them as authors. Additionally, the author is required to acknowledge any financial or material support received from an organization. If the article is derived from a thesis, this should be mentioned in this section, along with acknowledgments to the thesis supervisor and the university’s research deputy.

References

Finally, the references section lists all works cited in the paper, following the specified citation style. It is essential that all references are complete and correctly formatted, as this section validates the research and allows readers to locate the sources. 

Referencing system

  • The referencing system used by JIQS is the Harvard style of referencing. Harvard style referencing is an author/date method. Sources are cited within the body of your assignment by giving the name of the author(s) followed by the date of publication. All other details about the publication are given in the list of references or bibliography at the end.
  • Citations, which are used with direct quotations, or are referring to a particular part of a source, should include the volume (if any) and page number in your citation, e.g. (Smith 2017, 2:42).
  • If the author(s) name appears in the text as part of the body of the assignment, then the year will follow in round brackets, e.g. According to Smith (2017, 2:42).
  • If more than one of your citations has the same author and year of publication, then you should distinguish between them by using a lower–case letter following the year, e.g. (Smith 2017a) & (Smith 2017b).
  • Some authors have the same surname and works published in the same year, if this is the case use their initial to distinguish between them, e.g. (Williams, A. 2009) & (Williams, J. 2009).
  • In some instances, you may need to cite more than one piece of work for an idea. If this occurs, you should separate the references with a semicolon and cite them in chronological order, e.g. (Jones 2014; Smith 2017).
  • When citing in-text, include the name of up to three authors. If there are more than three authors for the work, you are citing then use the name of the first author followed by "et al.", e.g. (Taylor et al. 2015).
  • If the year of publication is not given then use the name of the author followed by "n.d.", e.g. (Wells n.d.).
  • Secondary Referencing: This is when you reference one author who is referring to the work of another and the primary source is not available. Secondary referencing should be avoided where possible. You must make it clear to your readers which author you have read whilst giving details of original term by using "cited in", e.g. (Ecott 2002, cited in Wilson 2009) or (Cannon 1989, cited in Wilson 2009, 269). In the reference list, you should give details of the item you looked at. Looking at the above examples, you would reference Wilson (2009) in your reference list.
  • Use the following order to give details of references in the reference list:

Author's surname, Author's first name. (year of publication). Name of the work. place of publication: publisher.

  • You can see some examples of references to different types of sources in the following file: 

JIQS Referencing system

 


Quotation from the Qur’an

You can refer to the verses of the Qur'an by the number of surah and verse, according to the following example. e.g. (Q. 2:19).

Transliteration System

Authors are expected to adhere to the convention of transliterating Arabic words and phrases in italic roman script in accordance with the Journal transliteration scheme. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and consistency of their transliteration.

Avoid writing words in Arabic script. If it is necessary, you can transliterate the word in the text and write it in Arabic script in the footnote. As for the verses of the Qur'an, only the main verse that is essential for the purpose of the article can be written in Arabic script.

Transliteration of Arabic words that do not have standard spellings in English should be done according to the following system.

 

Transliteration System

  ء

 ʾ  (Initial  hamzah is not  to be marked)

 ذ

 dh

 ظ

 ẓ / Ẓ

 ن

 n

  ب

 b

 ر

 r

 ع

 ʿ

 و

 w

  ت

 t

 ز

 z

 غ

 gh

 ه 

 h

  ث

 th

 س

 s

 ف

 f

ی

 y

  ج

 j

 ش

 sh

 ق

 q

 ة

 h   (without iḍāfah)

  ح

 ḥ / Ḥ

 ص

 ṣ / Ṣ

 ک

 k

 ة

 t   (with iḍāfah)

  خ

 kh

 ض

 ḍ / Ḍ

 ل

 l

 

 

  د

 d

 ط

 ṭ / Ṭ

 م

 m

 

 

 

   ــَـ

 a

 ـَا / ىٰ / آ

 ā / Ā

ـَو

 aw

   ــِـ

 i     

 ـِی

 ī / Ī

ـَی

 ay

    ــُـ

 u  

 ـُو

 ū / Ū

 

 

 

  • Transliterated words should be italicized (except for names). They should not be capitalized except at the beginning of sentences, in titles, and for names.
  • Note that some foreign words have been naturalized in English and have standard spelling. These words are not transliterated and italicized. e.g. Allah, Qur’an (Koran), Muhammad, imam, Islam, shariah, hadith, hajj, Shia (Shi’a), Shiite (Shi’ite), Sunni, qibla, Ramadan.
  • In transliteration of phrases, iʿrāb is not considered. If necessary, iʿrāb can be marked for the Qur'an and poetry e.g. ẓulumāt thalāth not ẓulumātin thalāthin.
  • Al- :

Al- is always written in lower case, unless it appears at the beginning of a sentence. In the table below, you can see examples of transliteration of al- in different situations.

  والبیت

wa al-bayt

من الشمس

min al-shams

القبلة

al-qiblah

  للبیت

lil-bayt

عن البیت

ʿan al-bayt

الشمس

al-shams

  بالبیت

bil-bayt

فی البیت

fī al-bayt

علی الجدار

ʿalā al-jidār

  کالبیت

kal-bayt

لا البیت

lā al-bayt

الی البیت

ilā al-bayt

 

  • Ibn, bint, abū, abī, abā, umm:

Ibn and bint should not be capitalized, unless they appear at the beginning of a name or sentence. Bin and ‘b.’ should not be used. Abū, abī, abā, umm is always written separately and without hyphen. See some examples in the table below.

 

Correct transliteration

Incorrect transliteration

الخلیل بن احمد

al-Khalīl ibn Ahmad

al-Khalīl Bin Ahmad, al-Khalīl b. Ahmad

ام البنین

Umm al-Banīn

Ummul-Banīn, UmmulBanīn

ابوالقاسم

Abū al-qāsim

Abul-qāsim, Abulqāsim

 

  • It is optional to write an abbreviation after the names of the holy people to show respect and prayer for them. If authors want to add the abbreviation, only the following two abbreviations will be acceptable.
  • (PBUH): peace be upon him
  • (PBUTH): peace be upon them
  • The names of those who spell their names in a particular way are not transliterated. For example, Seyyed Hossein Nasr.