Author Guidelines

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://journals.iium.edu.my/al-burhan/index.php/al-burhan/about/submissions to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Recommended guidelines include bibliographic and formatting standards alongside examples of common citation formats to be used in submissions.

Style and Format

File format - Manuscript files can be in the following formats: DOC or DOCX. Microsoft Word documents should not be locked or protected.

Language - Manuscripts must be submitted in English or Arabic. Exemptions will only be considered for specific subjects such as Qurʾanic and Sunnah Studies in the Malay Archipelago.

Length - The paper should not exceed (8,000) words, and not less than (4,000) words excluding bibliography and indexing.

Page Setup – Author should choose A4 for page size with the margins set up as follows: Top: 2.54 cm, Bottom: 2.54 cm, Left: 3.18 cm, and Right 3.18 cm.

Layout - Manuscript text should be set to 1.15 line spacing for English papers and 1.0 line spacing for Arabic papers. The document text must be left-justified, not centered or right-justified. The space after paragraph should be 1.5 and the indentation is set to 1.0 cm. Please avoid formatting the text in multiple columns.

Font - For English papers, kindly use Times New Roman or Gentium font, with the size 12 for the texts and 10 for the notes. As for Arabic, please use either Traditional Arabic with the size 18 for the texts and 14 for the notes, or Lotus Linotype with the size 16 for the texts and 12 for the notes.

Headings – You are advised to limit manuscript sections and sub-sections to 3 heading levels. Make sure heading levels are clearly indicated in the manuscript text.

Foreign words or phrases – For English papers, all foreign words such as Arabic terms must be transliterated. This also applies to words of other languages. For Arabic papers, please change the font of English words or terms to the abovementioned font and reduce its size by 2 points. Please ensure that there are spaces before and after the word.

Scriptural citations - For English articles, only the translation of the Qurʾān and the hadith is required. Citation of the Qurʾān needs to contain the chapter name, the chapter number and the verse number written besides it like this [al-Baqarah 2: 101]. If the Arabic Qurʾanic text is attached, it must be placed inside the decorated brackets (--). As for the hadith, an adequate retracement record (takhrīj al-ḥadīth) must be mentioned in the notes (e.g. the footnotes).

Abbreviations - Define abbreviations upon first appearance in the text. Do not use non-standard abbreviations unless they appear at least three times in the text. Keep abbreviations to a minimum.

Islamic honorifics – If the paper contains complimentary phrases such as subḥānahu wa taʿālā and ʿazza wa jalla, they should be abbreviated and capitalised without punctuation mark as follows: SWT, AWJ, SAW or PBUH, AS, and RA.

In-Text Citations – Use either APA or Chicago (either notes-bibliography or author-dates) style for in-text citations. If you are using APA and you wish to cite an edited classical work, kindly inform that the date is referring to the date of the critical edition by placing “ed.” before the year. For instance, if you are using Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī that was published in the year 2001, the citation would be like this: The meaning of this verse involves a certain rhetorical strategy (al-Ṭabarī, ed. 2001). Likewise, if you are using the translated version, please use “tr.”, e.g. (al-Ṭabarī, tr. 2018).

Reference style - The references must be arranged alphabetically at the end of the paper, while providing transliteration for the titles where necessary. In general, the references are reported based on the APA style. More specifically, the references must be written as follows:

Modern Books – Last Name, First Name. (Year of publication). The Full Title of the Book, Bold, Transliterated, and Italicised. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example: al-Khayrabadi, Mohammed Abullais. (2004). ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth Aṣīluhā wa Muʿāṣiruhā. Malaysia: Dar al-Shakir.

* In al-Khayrabadi, the “al” (alif lām) is not capitalised and the book should be listed under the alphabet K.

Classical Books (often published after taḥqīq) - Last Name, First Name. (Year of critical edition/taḥqīq preceded by the abbreviation ed.). The Full Title of the Book, Bold, Transliterated, and Italicised. Last Name of the Editor, First name (ed.) Place of Publication: Publisher.

Example: Ibn Jarīr al-Tabarī, Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad. (ed. 2001). Jāmiʿ al-Bayān fī Taʿwīl Āyy al-Qurʾān. al-Turkī, ʿAbd al-Muḥsin, ʿAbd Allah (ed.). Cairo: Dār Hajar.

 

Manuscript Organisation

Papers should be organised as follows. Instructions for each item will be given at the end of the list.

Beginning section - The following items are required, in order:

v Title

v Abstract.

v Keywords and phrases:

v Abstract (English). - If the paper is in Arabic

v Keywords and phrases: - If applicable

v Introduction

Middle section - The following headings can be renamed whenever necessary and presented in any order:

v Materials and Methods

v Results

v Discussion

v Conclusions (optional)

Ending section - The following items are required, in order:

v Acknowledgments (if applicable)

v References

v Supporting Information Captions (if applicable)

Other elements

v Figure captions are inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which the figure is cited.

v Figure files are uploaded separately.

v Tables are inserted immediately after the first paragraph in which they are cited.

v Supporting information files are uploaded separately.

 

Preparing Your Manuscript

 

Title

v Provide full title.

v Length: not exceeding 150 characters.

v Capitalise Each Word.

v Align: Center

v Specific, descriptive, concise, and comprehensible to readers outside the field.

Author /authors

v 1.5 spacing between the title and the author name.

v Use the symbol * at the end of the name to indicate the corresponding author.

v Write author names in the following order:

· First name (or initials, if used)

· Middle name (or initials, if used)

· Last name (surname, family name)

v Each author on the list must have an affiliation. The affiliation includes department, university, or organizational affiliation and its location, including city, state/province (if applicable), and country.

v If an author has multiple affiliations, provide other affiliations in the email to the editor. In the paper and the submission system, enter only the preferred or primary affiliation.

v Only One corresponding author should be designated in the submission system as well as on the paper.

v 1.5 spacing between the affiliation address and the corresponding author’s email. The email address should be preceded by: *Corresponding author:

Abstract

v The word abstract should be placed at the beginning of the paragraph in bold and followed by a period like this: Abstract.

v Typed in 1 spaced and font-size 11 pt.

v The Abstract should:

· Describe the main objective(s) of the study

· Explain the methodology adopted in the research

· Summarize the most important results and their significance

· Not exceeding 350 words.

v Abstracts should not include citations or abbreviations, if possible.

Keywords and phrases

v FIVE keywords or phrases must be provided after the abstract.

v The term “Keywords and phrases” should be placed at the beginning of the texts in bold and followed by a colon like this: Keywords and phrases:

v The first letter of the word or phrase must be capitalized.

v Keywords bearing the name of a discipline or an area of scholarship are more preferable.

Introduction

v The introduction may:

· Provide background that puts the manuscript into context and allows readers outside the field to understand the purpose and significance of the study.

· Define the problem addressed and why it is important.

· Include a brief review of the key literature.

· Note any relevant controversies or disagreements in the field.

· Conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the work and a comment about whether that aim was achieved.

Acknowledgments

v The acknowledgment should not exceed ONE short paragraph (approximately 150 words).

References

v Any and all available works can be cited in the reference list. Acceptable sources include:

· Published or accepted manuscripts.

· Manuscripts on pre-print servers, if the manuscript is submitted to a journal and also publicly available as a pre-print.

v Do not cite the following sources in the reference list:

· Personal communications (these should be supported by a letter from the relevant authors but not included in the reference list)

 

Please ensure that the sections of the manuscript are in the correct order before ordering the citations. The article template used by al-Burhān journal can be downloaded from the templates section on the sidebar.

Author Responsibilities:

1. It is the sole responsibility of the writer to ensure that the article is grammatically correct.
2. The article has not been published elsewhere or currently under consideration by any other journals.
3. The article must be new and original and must not have been submitted to any other Journal.

Copyediting manuscripts

Prior to publication, authors who believe their manuscripts would benefit from professional editing are encouraged to use language-editing and copyediting services. Obtaining this service is the responsibility of the author, and should be done before initial submission. These services can be found on the web using search terms like “scientific editing service” or “manuscript editing service.”