Aims and Scope
Aim of the Journal
Al-Qamar aims to publish original, peer-reviewed scholarship in Islamic Studies and related fields. The journal provides an academic platform for research that is evidence-based, methodologically clear, ethically responsible, and relevant to contemporary scholarly discussion.
The journal seeks to connect the depth of classical Islamic scholarship with modern academic research. It encourages studies that engage primary sources, evaluate historical evidence, analyze religious, legal, ethical, educational, philosophical, and social questions, and contribute to a deeper understanding of Islamic thought, Muslim societies, and related intellectual traditions.
Al-Qamar welcomes scholarship that is critical, balanced, properly documented, and useful for researchers, teachers, postgraduate scholars, libraries, and academic institutions.
Scope of the Journal
Al-Qamar publishes research in Islamic Studies and related disciplines where the manuscript offers a clear scholarly contribution. The journal particularly welcomes manuscripts in the following areas:
- Qur’anic Studies
- Hadith Studies
- Sirah Studies
- Islamic jurisprudence and Islamic law
- Usul al-fiqh
- Islamic theology and philosophy
- Sufism and spiritual traditions
- Islamic ethics and moral thought
- Islamic education
- Muslim history and civilization
- Comparative religion
- Interfaith studies
- Orientalism and Muslim intellectual responses
- Arabic and Urdu scholarship
- Manuscript studies and textual criticism
- Islamic thought and intellectual history
- Muslim societies and contemporary Muslim issues
- Religion, law, culture, ethics, and public life
- Humanities and social sciences where the research remains clearly relevant to Islamic Studies
The journal may also consider interdisciplinary research in law, education, sociology, culture, history, language, public ethics, religious harmony, contemporary Muslim communities, and institutional development, provided that the manuscript remains clearly connected to Islamic Studies or Muslim intellectual, social, historical, and cultural life.
Nature of Suitable Research
Submissions to Al-Qamar should not be merely descriptive. A suitable manuscript should present a clear research problem, engage relevant scholarship, use appropriate sources, and develop a reasoned academic argument.
The journal gives preference to work that:
- Presents original research
- Shows methodological clarity
- Uses reliable primary and secondary sources
- Provides proper documentation and references
- Engages critically with existing scholarship
- Contributes to the field of Islamic Studies or related disciplines
- Maintains ethical and academic standards
- Uses respectful and professional academic language
Accepted Submission Categories
Al-Qamar accepts only the following regular submission categories:
- Research Articles
- Book Reviews
The journal does not accept other regular categories such as review essays, monographs, research notes, short communications, opinion pieces, reports, or general essays unless formally announced by the editorial office for a specific academic purpose.
Research Articles
Research Articles are the main scholarly category of Al-Qamar. A Research Article should present original academic work and make a clear contribution to knowledge.
A Research Article should normally include:
- A clear and relevant title
- Abstract and keywords
- A well-defined research problem
- Relevant literature or scholarly background
- Clear methodology or research approach
- Critical engagement with primary and secondary sources
- Analysis, discussion, and argument
- Accurate citations and references
- Ethical compliance where applicable
- Clear findings, conclusion, or contribution to knowledge
Research Articles should be analytical rather than merely narrative or descriptive. Authors should explain why the research matters, how the study has been conducted, what sources have been used, and how the article contributes to existing scholarship.
Research Articles submitted to Al-Qamar are processed through a double-blind peer-review system.
Book Reviews
Al-Qamar also publishes scholarly Book Reviews related to the journal’s scope. A Book Review should critically examine a recently published or academically significant book in Islamic Studies or a related field.
A Book Review should normally include:
- Full bibliographic details of the reviewed book
- Name of the author or editor of the book
- Publisher, place of publication, year, pages, and ISBN where available
- Context and subject of the book
- Summary of the book’s main argument
- Critical evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses
- Assessment of its contribution to the field
- Relevance for researchers, teachers, students, or institutions
- Reviewer’s name and affiliation
A Book Review should not be promotional. It should provide a balanced academic assessment of the work under review.
Book Reviews are evaluated by the editorial team and may be sent for expert review where necessary.
Out-of-Scope Submissions
Al-Qamar does not normally consider submissions that are:
- Purely journalistic
- Promotional or institutional publicity
- Polemical without scholarly method
- Devotional without research structure
- Unsupported by reliable evidence
- Based on unverified claims
- Unrelated to Islamic Studies or the journal’s allied fields
- Previously published in substantially the same form
- Under review by another journal at the same time
- Lacking proper citation, references, or academic argument
Submissions outside the journal’s aims and scope may be declined during initial editorial screening before external review.
Multilingual Scope
Al-Qamar publishes manuscripts in English, Urdu, and Arabic. This multilingual scope reflects the nature of Islamic Studies, where scholarship often requires engagement with Arabic primary texts, Urdu academic traditions, and English-language international research.
For all Urdu and Arabic submissions, authors must provide:
- English title
- English abstract
- English keywords
- Roman-script author names
- Complete author affiliations in English
References in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, or other non-Roman scripts should be transliterated or accompanied by Roman-script bibliographic details where required for indexing, metadata, and international discoverability.
Authors should use religious terminology, translations, historical claims, legal classifications, sectarian references, and intellectual traditions with care and accuracy. Contested interpretations should not be presented as undisputed facts unless the evidence clearly supports such a claim.
Editorial Priorities
Al-Qamar gives priority to manuscripts that are:
- Original and research-based
- Relevant to the journal’s aims and scope
- Methodologically clear
- Properly documented
- Ethically responsible
- Analytical rather than merely descriptive
- Supported by accurate citations and references
- Written in clear academic language
- Useful for researchers, teachers, postgraduate scholars, libraries, and academic institutions
- Capable of contributing to national and international scholarly discussion
The journal values scholarship that is precise, balanced, evidence-based, and respectful of the complexity of religious, historical, legal, and intellectual traditions.
Academic Integrity and Responsible Scholarship
Al-Qamar encourages critical scholarship, but criticism must be grounded in evidence and expressed in professional academic language. Articles may disagree with earlier scholars, modern writers, institutions, public policies, intellectual trends, or religious interpretations, but they should not rely on insult, exaggeration, selective quotation, misrepresentation, or inflammatory language.
Authors are expected to verify all quotations, translations, references, dates, names, page numbers, Qur’anic references, Hadith references, legal citations, and historical claims. The journal may request clarification, revision, or additional evidence where necessary.
Editorial Screening
All submissions are initially checked by the editorial office for relevance to the journal’s scope, completeness, originality, ethical compliance, language quality, reference accuracy, and suitability for review.
A manuscript may be declined before peer review if it does not meet the journal’s basic requirements, falls outside the journal’s scope, lacks scholarly structure, contains serious ethical concerns, or does not provide a clear academic contribution.
Final Statement
Al-Qamar seeks to publish scholarship that strengthens academic understanding of Islamic Studies and related fields. The journal welcomes work that is original, critical, respectful, well-documented, and useful for the wider scholarly community.
