Submission types

We accept through either Scholastica or our online submissions portal.

We accept scholarship submission to the Journal in Islamic Law for new scholarship in Islamic law, as well as its dynamic forum, which features scholarly responses, debates, and new developments in Islamic law scholarship or at the intersection of Islamic law and data science. Submissions, unless otherwise noted for Special Issues, may take many forms, including: Articles, Essays, Case Briefs, Student Notes, and Reviews.

Articles & Essays

Articles present sustained works of original research on some aspect of Islamic or comparative law; essays are usually narrower in scope. While the line between them is not rigid, we recommend that article submissions have fewer than 12,500 words, including footnotes. We publish two types of essays: (1) Journal essays, which have fewer than 5,000 words, including footnotes; and (2) Blog essays, which have fewer than 2,000 words, including footnotes. Blog essays may be considered for publication in the Journal at the editors’ discretion.

Both articles and essays may explore traditional topics in Islamic law or engage with its intersection with AI and data science. Empirical elements like datasets, links, or statistical appendices may be included in AI/data science submissions and do not count toward the word limit.

Case Briefs

Case Briefs present the basic facts of a recent cases related to Islamic law in Muslim-majority or Muslim-minority countries. Submissions should have fewer than 1,500 words, including footnotes.

Student Notes

Notes are student-written works typically available to Harvard students. Notes submissions should have fewer than 5,000 words, including footnotes. Like articles and essays, student notes may focus on Islamic law or its intersection with AI/data science. Empirical components such as datasets and statistical evidence are welcome and do not count toward the word limit.

Book/Tech Reviews

We accept reviews of books published within the last two years and tech reviews of AI or data science tools relevant to Islamic law research. Reviews should be under 2,000 words, including footnotes. Empirical components, such as datasets and appendices, may also be included and are not counted in the word limit.

Data Science Articles, Essays, or Reviews

Data science articles or essays present on data science and digital humanities projects that work at the intersections of data science methods and Islamic law, including legal history. Articles or essays should have 10,000 - 15,000 words, including footnotes.

Data science reviews assess and/or critically analyze new data science and digital humanities tools, including databases and other relevant data portals, that work at the intersections of data science methods and Islamic law, including legal history. Submissions should have fewer than 1,500 words, including footnotes.

Symposia / Forum

Submissions for thematic symposia on recent developments featured on the Forum are by invitation only.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

• The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
• The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
• Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
• The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
• The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
• Footnotes should conform to the latest edition of the Bluebook (i.e., no need for a separate bibliography). * Submissions should be single spaced and in Times New Roman, font size 12.
• Submissions should include a paragraph of not more than 500 words.
• Submissions should list between 3 and 5 key words.

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