Transliteration and Multilingual Policy

Purpose

Al-Qamar publishes scholarly work in English, Urdu, and Arabic. This Transliteration and Multilingual Policy explains how authors should prepare multilingual metadata, names, references, religious terms, and non-Roman script material for publication.

The purpose of this policy is to improve academic clarity, citation accuracy, international discoverability, indexing readability, and consistency across articles published in the journal.

Accepted Languages

Al-Qamar accepts manuscripts in the following languages:

  1. English
  2. Urdu
  3. Arabic

Authors should write in clear academic language and should follow the scholarly conventions of the language in which the manuscript is submitted.

English Metadata Requirement

For all submissions, complete metadata must be provided.

For Urdu and Arabic manuscripts, authors must provide the following in English:

  • English title
  • English abstract
  • English keywords
  • Roman-script author names
  • Author affiliations in English
  • Corresponding author details in English
  • References in Roman script where required for indexing and discovery

This requirement supports international visibility, indexing, citation tracking, database discovery, and accurate identification of authors and articles.

Article Title

Urdu and Arabic manuscripts must include an English title in addition to the original-language title.

The English title should be accurate, scholarly, and consistent with the meaning of the original title. It should not be overly literal if a clearer academic translation is possible.

Authors should avoid vague, decorative, or unnecessarily long titles. The title should clearly reflect the subject, method, or central argument of the article.

Abstract

Urdu and Arabic manuscripts must include an English abstract.

The English abstract should clearly present:

  • Purpose of the study
  • Research problem
  • Method or approach
  • Main argument or findings
  • Scholarly contribution

The abstract should be written in clear academic English and should be suitable for readers, indexing systems, and international databases.

Keywords

Urdu and Arabic manuscripts must include English keywords.

Keywords should be specific and academically useful. Authors should avoid very general terms where more precise terms are possible.

For example, instead of using only broad keywords such as “Islam” or “History,” authors should use more specific terms such as “Qur’anic Exegesis,” “Islamic Legal Theory,” “Hadith Criticism,” “Sufism,” “South Asian Islam,” or “Manuscript Studies,” where relevant.

Roman-Script Author Names

All authors must provide their names in Roman script.

Author names should be written consistently across:

  • Manuscript file
  • OJS metadata
  • PDF article
  • English abstract page
  • DOI metadata, where applicable
  • Future submissions by the same author

Authors should avoid changing spellings across different submissions. For example, one author should not appear as “Qamar un Nisa,” “Qamar-un-Nisa,” and “Qamarunnisa” in different records unless there is a formal reason.

Author Affiliations

Author affiliations should be provided in English for all articles, including Urdu and Arabic manuscripts.

An affiliation should normally include:

  • Department or academic unit
  • Institution
  • City
  • Country

Example:

Department of Islamic Studies, University of Education, Lahore, Pakistan

Where available, authors are encouraged to provide ORCID iD and institutional email.

Transliteration of Urdu and Arabic Terms

Authors should transliterate Urdu and Arabic terms consistently. A term should not appear in multiple spellings within the same article unless there is a clear scholarly reason.

For example:

  • Qur’an should not also appear as Quran, Quraan, and Qurʾān in the same article without consistency.
  • Hadith should not also appear as Hadees, Hadis, and Ḥadīth in the same article without consistency.
  • Shariah should not also appear as Shari‘ah, Sharia, and Sharīʿah in the same article without consistency.

The journal allows simplified academic transliteration where full diacritical transliteration is not necessary. However, consistency is required.

Diacritics

Authors may use diacritics for technical Arabic terms where necessary, especially in specialized Islamic Studies, Arabic Studies, manuscript studies, Hadith studies, Qur’anic studies, and legal studies.

Examples:

  • ḥadīth
  • tafsīr
  • fiqh
  • uṣūl al-fiqh
  • sharīʿah
  • isnād
  • matn
  • ijtihād
  • ijmāʿ
  • qiyās

If diacritics are used, they should be used consistently. If simplified transliteration is used, it should also be consistent.

Qur’anic References

Qur’anic references should be accurate and consistent.

Authors should provide:

  • Surah name or number
  • Verse number
  • Translation source where a translation is quoted

Examples:

  • Qur’an 2:256
  • Al-Baqarah 2:256
  • Surah al-Baqarah, 2:256

Authors should use one style consistently throughout the manuscript.

If a translation is used, the translator or translation source should be identified where required.

Hadith References

Hadith references should be accurate and verifiable.

Authors should provide sufficient bibliographic details, such as:

  • Collection name
  • Book/chapter where applicable
  • Hadith number where available
  • Volume and page number where using a printed edition
  • Editor/publisher information where required

Authors should avoid unsupported references such as “Hadith says” without proper source identification.

Where authenticity grading is relevant to the argument, authors should identify the grading source or scholarly basis.

Classical Islamic Sources

When citing classical Islamic texts, authors should provide enough details for verification.

References should normally include:

  • Author name
  • Title of work
  • Editor or translator where applicable
  • Volume number
  • Page number
  • Publisher
  • Place of publication
  • Year of publication
  • Edition where relevant

For manuscript sources, authors should provide archive/library name, manuscript number, folio/page number, and other identifying details where available.

Non-Roman References

References in Arabic, Urdu, Persian, or other non-Roman scripts should be handled carefully.

Where required for indexing and discovery, authors should provide Roman-script bibliographic details. This may include transliterated author names, titles, publishers, and publication details.

A reference may include both original script and transliteration where appropriate.

Example format:

Original script reference followed by Roman-script transliteration or English bibliographic information.

Authors should ensure that references remain readable, searchable, and verifiable.

Translation of Titles

Where a source title is in Urdu, Arabic, Persian, or another non-English language, authors may provide an English translation in brackets where useful.

Example:

Al-Risālah [The Treatise]

Translated titles should be accurate and should not replace the original title where the original title is necessary for identification.

Consistency of Names and Terms

Authors must maintain consistency in the spelling of:

  • Author names
  • Scholar names
  • Place names
  • Book titles
  • Technical terms
  • Schools of thought
  • Historical periods
  • Islamic legal terms
  • Arabic and Urdu words

Inconsistent spelling weakens metadata quality, citation accuracy, indexing, and reader understanding.

Sectarian, Legal, and Theological Terms

Authors should use sectarian, legal, and theological terms carefully, accurately, and respectfully.

Authors should avoid presenting contested interpretations as undisputed facts unless supported by evidence. Schools of thought, legal positions, narrations, and theological views should be identified accurately and fairly.

Academic disagreement is acceptable, but language should remain scholarly and respectful.

Translation Accuracy

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of translations used in their manuscripts.

If authors translate a passage themselves, they may indicate this where necessary. If a published translation is used, it should be cited properly.

Translations should not distort the meaning of the original text. The journal may request clarification where a translation is central to the argument.

Metadata Accuracy

Authors must ensure that metadata entered in OJS matches the manuscript and final article file.

Metadata includes:

  • Article title
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Author names
  • Affiliations
  • Email addresses
  • ORCID, where available
  • References
  • Language
  • Funding information, where applicable

Incorrect metadata may affect indexing, citation tracking, and discoverability.

Multilingual Article Presentation

For multilingual articles, the journal may require the article file to include:

  • Original title
  • English title
  • Original-language abstract
  • English abstract
  • Original-language keywords
  • English keywords
  • Roman-script author names
  • English affiliations

This helps readers and indexing services understand the article even when the main text is in Urdu or Arabic.

Responsibility of Authors

Authors are responsible for:

  • Accurate transliteration
  • Consistent spelling
  • Correct metadata
  • Reliable translations
  • Verifiable references
  • Proper use of religious and technical terminology
  • Clear English title, abstract, and keywords for Urdu and Arabic submissions

The editorial office may return a manuscript for correction if transliteration, metadata, references, or language presentation are incomplete or inconsistent.

Editorial Review

During editorial screening, the journal may check:

  • English metadata
  • Roman-script author names
  • Transliteration consistency
  • Reference readability
  • Accuracy of Qur’anic and Hadith references
  • Completeness of affiliations
  • Language clarity
  • Indexing suitability

A manuscript may be returned to authors for correction before peer review if required metadata or transliteration details are missing.

Final Statement

Al-Qamar supports multilingual scholarship while maintaining international standards of metadata, citation, transliteration, and discoverability. Authors are expected to prepare Urdu, Arabic, and English material carefully so that published articles remain academically reliable, searchable, and useful for national and international readers.