Editorial Decsion Policy

Peer Review Process and Editorial Policy

Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law implements a rigorous, objective, transparent, and ethical peer-review process to ensure the publication of high-quality scholarly articles. All submitted manuscripts are evaluated based on their academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal's focus and scope in Islamic law and related legal studies.

The journal adopts a double-blind peer-review system, in which the identities of authors and reviewers remain concealed from each other throughout the review process. This system aims to minimize potential bias, safeguard academic integrity, and promote fairness and impartiality in editorial decisions.

The editorial and peer-review process follows the approximate timeline below:

Editorial Stage	Estimated Duration
Submission to First Editorial Decision	1–2 Weeks
Article Peer Review Process	2–4 Weeks
Submission to Final Acceptance	2–10 Weeks

These time frames are estimates and may vary depending on manuscript quality, reviewer availability, the extent of revisions required, and the complexity of the editorial evaluation.

All manuscripts submitted to Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law undergo an initial editorial screening followed by an independent peer-review process. The journal is committed to maintaining scholarly integrity, editorial independence, confidentiality, and ethical publication practices. The following policy outlines the procedures, responsibilities, and evaluation standards applied throughout the editorial and publication process.

1. Initial Manuscript Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial assessment conducted by the Editor-in-Chief or an assigned Section Editor. The preliminary screening determines whether a manuscript meets the journal's academic and editorial requirements.

The assessment includes:

Relevance to the journal's focus and scope, particularly Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), principles of Islamic jurisprudence (usul al-fiqh), Islamic family law, Islamic economic law, comparative Islamic law, and contemporary Islamic legal issues.
Compliance with the journal's author guidelines, manuscript structure, citation requirements, and formatting standards.
Originality, scholarly significance, and potential contribution to the development of Islamic legal scholarship.
Academic clarity, consistency of argumentation, and appropriateness of the research methodology.
Similarity and plagiarism screening using appropriate detection software, such as Turnitin.

Manuscripts that fail to meet these requirements may be rejected during the initial screening without proceeding to external peer review. The editorial team communicates the decision to the corresponding author.

2. Assignment of Reviewers

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial screening are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with appropriate academic expertise in Islamic law or related disciplines.

Reviewer selection considers subject-matter expertise, academic qualifications, research experience, independence, and the absence of conflicts of interest.

Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law applies a double-blind peer-review system to maintain objectivity and impartiality. Authors' identities are concealed from reviewers, while reviewers' identities remain confidential to authors.

Reviewers are expected to provide constructive, evidence-based, and academically justified evaluations that contribute to improving the scholarly quality of submitted manuscripts.

3. Peer Review Process

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts according to established academic standards and the specific characteristics of Islamic legal research.

The evaluation criteria include:

Originality and Novelty: The manuscript presents original findings, arguments, interpretations, or perspectives that contribute to the development of Islamic legal scholarship.
Relevance and Significance: The research addresses important theoretical, normative, historical, or contemporary issues within Islamic law and related legal disciplines.
Clarity of Research Objectives: The manuscript clearly articulates its research problems, objectives, theoretical framework, and scholarly contribution.
Methodological Rigor: The research employs appropriate and systematic methods, including normative legal analysis, doctrinal research, empirical legal research, comparative legal analysis, or other relevant approaches.
Quality of Legal Analysis: The manuscript demonstrates coherent legal reasoning, critical engagement with relevant arguments, and appropriate interpretation of Islamic legal sources, jurisprudential doctrines, legislation, or judicial decisions.
Literature and References: The research engages with relevant scholarly literature, including authoritative Islamic legal sources, classical and contemporary scholarship, and recent academic publications.
Results and Discussion: The findings are presented logically, supported by sufficient evidence, and critically discussed in relation to existing scholarship.
Research Ethics and Academic Integrity: The manuscript complies with ethical research principles, appropriate citation practices, and applicable standards of scholarly publication.

Following their evaluation, reviewers submit a recommendation from the following categories:

Accept Submission: The manuscript meets the journal's publication standards without requiring substantive revisions.
Minor Revisions: The manuscript requires limited corrections or improvements before acceptance.
Major Revisions: The manuscript requires substantial revisions to its arguments, methodology, analysis, or presentation.
Reject Submission: The manuscript does not meet the journal's academic or publication standards.

Reviewer recommendations serve as the basis for editorial consideration but do not automatically determine the final publication decision.

4. Editorial Evaluation and Decision

After receiving the reviewers' reports, the assigned editor evaluates the recommendations and determines the appropriate editorial action.

The evaluation considers:

The academic validity, consistency, and relevance of the reviewers' assessments.
The manuscript's originality, methodological soundness, and contribution to Islamic legal scholarship.
The extent and significance of the revisions recommended by the reviewers.
The author's responses to reviewer comments, where applicable.
Compliance with the journal's editorial standards and publication ethics.

When reviewers provide substantially different recommendations, the editor may request an additional evaluation from a third independent reviewer.

Editorial decisions are made based on academic considerations and the scientific merit of the manuscript, rather than the author's institutional affiliation, nationality, gender, religious background, or personal characteristics.

5. Author Revisions

Authors whose manuscripts require revisions must address the reviewers' comments and editorial recommendations within the deadline established by the editorial team.

Authors are expected to:

Carefully review and respond to all relevant reviewer comments.
Revise the manuscript to improve its academic quality, clarity, methodological rigor, and legal analysis.
Provide a clear response explaining how each reviewer comment has been addressed.
Offer an academically justified explanation when a particular recommendation is not adopted.
Submit the revised manuscript through the journal's online submission system within the specified revision period.

Manuscripts requiring major revisions may be returned to the original reviewers for further evaluation. Manuscripts requiring minor revisions may be assessed directly by the assigned editor.

A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance. Manuscripts may be rejected if the revisions fail to adequately address significant academic or methodological concerns.

6. Final Editorial Decision

The Editor-in-Chief holds final responsibility for determining whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected for publication in Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law.

The final decision considers the reviewers' recommendations, the manuscript's scholarly contribution, the quality of revisions, compliance with publication ethics, and the journal's editorial standards.

The final decision may result in acceptance, a request for further revisions, or rejection.

All editorial decisions are communicated to the corresponding author through the journal's online editorial management system, accompanied by relevant reviewer reports and editorial feedback.

Accepted manuscripts subsequently proceed to the copyediting, layout editing, proofreading, and publication stages in accordance with the journal's publication procedures.

7. Appeals and Complaints

Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law recognizes the right of authors to appeal editorial decisions when they believe that a significant procedural error, factual misunderstanding, or unfair evaluation has occurred.

Authors wishing to appeal must submit a formal request to the editorial team, supported by a clear academic justification and relevant evidence.

Appeals are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief or independent members of the editorial board who were not directly involved in the disputed decision, where appropriate.

The appeal process focuses on identifying possible procedural irregularities or substantive errors in the editorial assessment. Disagreement with reviewer comments alone does not automatically constitute sufficient grounds for an appeal.

The editorial decision following the appeal review is final.

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, reviewer behavior, conflicts of interest, or potential violations of publication ethics are handled confidentially and in accordance with the journal's established ethical policies.

8. Confidentiality and Publication Ethics

All manuscripts submitted to Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law are treated as confidential scholarly documents throughout the editorial and peer-review process.

Editors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in manuscript evaluation must maintain the confidentiality of submitted materials and refrain from disclosing unpublished research without appropriate authorization.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Editors and reviewers are required to:

Maintain Confidentiality: Protect manuscript content, reviewer reports, author information, and unpublished research materials.
Disclose Conflicts of Interest: Declare any financial, academic, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that may compromise impartial judgment.
Ensure Objective Evaluation: Assess manuscripts solely on scholarly merit, methodological quality, originality, and relevance to the journal's academic scope.
Avoid Misuse of Unpublished Research: Refrain from using unpublished data, arguments, findings, or ideas obtained during the review process for personal or professional advantage.
Uphold Academic Integrity: Identify and report suspected plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, or other forms of research misconduct.
Provide Constructive Feedback: Deliver respectful, substantiated, and academically relevant comments that assist authors in improving their manuscripts.
Follow Ethical Guidelines: Comply with the journal's editorial policies and applicable COPE recommendations concerning ethical peer review and publication practices.

The editorial team reserves the right to investigate suspected violations of publication ethics and take appropriate corrective action, including manuscript rejection, publication of corrections, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions when justified.

Through these procedures, Muwafaqat: Journal of Islamic Law seeks to promote academic excellence, transparency, fairness, and the responsible dissemination of research in Islamic law.