Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Exegesis: Journal of Qur'anic Studies

I. Notes to Authors

A. Scope & Discipline Areas

Exegesis: Journal of Qur'anic Studies is an international, peer-reviewed forum dedicated to original, critical, and progressive scholarship in Qur'anic Studies and Qur'anic Sciences (Ulum al-Qur'an). The journal explores the Qur'an not merely as a historical religious text, but as a living, dynamic discourse that continuously interacts with contemporary issues, modern disciplines, and global socio-religious contexts. The scope encompasses, but is not limited to, the following sub-themes:

  1. Qur'anic Sciences ('Ulum al-Qur'an) & Textual Criticism: Contexts of revelation (Asbab al-Nuzul), abrogation (Nasikh-Mansukh), contextual classification (Makki-Madani), textual variants (Qira'at), orthography (Rasm), literary I'jaz, textual transmission history, canonization, codicology, and paleography.
  2. Tafsir, Hermeneutics, & Exegetical Traditions: Critical analysis of classical (turath), modern, and contemporary tafsir literature; thematic (maudhu'i), structural, and contextual hermeneutical methodologies.
  3. Living Qur'an & Social Reception: Rituals, cultural expressions, everyday social practices, Tahfidh, recitation traditions, aesthetic, calligraphic, and therapeutic (ruqyah) receptions of the Qur'an.
  4. Digital Qur'an & Media: Digital humanities, Natural Language Processing (NLP), Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Qur'anic research, social media representations, digital authority, and mobile applications.
  5. Linguistics, Semantics, & Translation Studies: Classical and modern Arabic semantics, rhetoric (Balaghah), discourse analysis, translation history/theories, and comparative translation studies across world languages.
  6. The Qur'an, Science, & Contemporary Issues: Interdisciplinary dialogues with modern science, bioethics, environmental ethics (Eco-Qur'an), human rights, gender studies, social justice, and religious moderation narratives.
  7. Area Studies & Regional Traditions: Regional scholarship across Southeast Asia (Nusantara), Middle East, Western contexts, localized tafsir, and pedagogical traditions in pesantren, madrasahs, and higher education.

B. Authorship & Submissions

  • Maximum Authors: Each manuscript may have a maximum of five (5) authors.
  • Contribution: Authorship must be limited to individuals who made significant contributions to conceptualization, methodological design, data collection, or analysis. Secondary support (e.g., language editing, proofreading) should be credited in an Acknowledgments section.
  • Author Details: All authors must state their full names, institutional affiliations, and official email addresses.

C. General Submission Rules

  • Originality: Submissions must be original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere.
  • Prior Publication: Material derived from academic theses/dissertations or published in another language must be explicitly disclosed in a cover letter and approved by the Managing Editor.
  • Peer Review Screening: All manuscripts undergo an initial screening to ensure fit with the journal's focus and scope. Peer review decisions are typically communicated within 8 weeks. Mandatory revisions must be returned within 14 days.

D. Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Technologies

  • Authorship Restrictions: Generative AI tools and Large Language Models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar software, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. AI tools do not possess legal status and cannot take responsibility for the authenticity, integrity, or contents of the manuscript.
  • Acceptable Use: Authors may use AI-assisted tools solely to improve the language quality, readability, and stylistic formatting of their manuscripts (e.g., grammar checking or language editing).
  • Prohibited Actions:
    • AI must not be used to generate substantive research content, interpret Qur'anic verses/tafsir, create fake primary references/citations, or perform data synthesis.
    • Authors are strictly prohibited from uploading unpublished manuscripts or proprietary research data into unsecure public AI platforms that violate copyright or confidentiality.
  • Mandatory Disclosure: If AI tools were utilized during the drafting or language refinement of the manuscript, authors must explicitly disclose this in a dedicated section titled "Statement on AI Usage" placed immediately before the Reference list. The statement must declare:
    1. The name and version of the AI tool used.
    2. The exact purpose of its usage (e.g., "ChatGPT 4o was used to check grammar and improve English clarity in the Discussion section").
    3. A confirmation that the authors reviewed, edited, and approved all output generated by the AI tool and take full responsibility for the final content.

II. Manuscript Layout & Technical Specifications

A. General Formatting

  • Word Count: 5,000 to 7,000 words (including title, abstract, main body, in-text citations, and references).
  • Page Setup: Single-spaced on A4 paper with Moderate Margins [Top: 2.54 cm, Left: 1.91 cm, Bottom: 2.54 cm, Right: 1.91 cm].
  • Typography:
    • Title: Cambria, 14pt, Bold, Max 12 words.
    • Main Text (Latin): Cambria, 12pt, single spacing.
    • Arabic Text: Sakkal Majalla, 14pt.
    • Abstract: Cambria, 11pt, single spacing.
  • Styling: Avoid section breaks or bold text within body paragraphs (use italics for emphasis). Arabic transliteration must adhere strictly to the IJMES (International Journal of Middle East Studies) system.

B. Structure of the Article

  1. Title: Maximum of 12 words, clearly encompassing the formal object, material object, and context of research.
  2. Author Information: Full names, affiliations, official email addresses, with an asterisk (*) marking the corresponding author.
  3. Abstract & Keywords:
    • Bilingual Requirement: Must include both English and Indonesian abstracts. For all manuscripts, the English abstract is placed first, followed by the Indonesian abstract.
    • Length & Format: 200–250 words per language, written in a single paragraph, single column.
    • Contents: Research objectives, core problem, methodology, key findings, and novel conclusions.
    • Keywords: 3 to 5 keywords, separated by semicolons (;).
  4. Introduction: Outlines the theoretical background, literature gaps (what is known vs. unknown), research objectives, research questions, and a brief description of the methodology.
  5. Result and Discussion: A single integrated section presenting key empirical/theoretical findings supported by critical analysis. Authors may use thematic sub-headings to structure the discussion logically. Figures and tables must be embedded directly in text with brief captions.
  6. Conclusion: Concisely summarizes main implications and directly addresses research questions posed in the Introduction. Avoid simply repeating the abstract.
  7. Statement on AI Usage (If Applicable): A brief declaration if AI tools were used for language editing or formatting.
  8. References:
    • Minimum of 25 accessible references.
    • At least 40% of references must come from primary sources or peer-reviewed journal articles published within the last 5 to 10 years.
    • References must be formatted using APA Style 7th Edition (in-text citations/bodynotes).
    • Must be managed using reference software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.