Author Guidelines

International Seminar on Syariah and Law (INSLA): E-Proceedings

Authors are highly advised to read the Author Guidelines in preparing their manuscripts according to INSLA E-Proceedings specifications to ensure a smooth submission process. Authors are reminded to avoid plagiarism and adhere to the publication ethics of INSLA.

Submission Guidelines

The INSLA E-Proceedings is a peer-reviewed conference proceeding that features original and thoroughly researched articles in Syariah law, fiqh, Islamic studies, legal studies, and related disciplines. The opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board or associated institutions.

INSLA welcomes submissions in English, Malay, or Arabic. Articles under review or considered for publication elsewhere, either online or in print, will not be accepted. Additionally, the submissions should not have been previously published. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to confirm this at the time of submission.

Submissions should be made via the online platforms of OJS or Confbay. First-time contributors will need to register as new users before they can submit their manuscripts. While the submission process is designed to be intuitive, authors can contact the Managing Editor via email if they require further assistance.

Manuscript

Manuscripts must be formatted following the American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition style guide, using either Times New Roman or Traditional Arabic fonts. For manuscripts in Malay or Arabic, an additional abstract and title in English are required. Authors should include three to five keywords in the manuscript.

The font size should be set to 11 for Times New Roman and 16 for Traditional Arabic, with the text single-spaced. The total length of the article, including references, should not surpass 25 pages. Please refer to the INSLA template for more details.

Abstract

Each manuscript should include an abstract of about 250–350 words. For Malay or Arabic manuscripts, an additional abstract and title in English must accompany the manuscript. Keywords should consist of three (3) to five (5) words.

Authorship

All authors named on the manuscript must have contributed to the paper, whether in the design, analysis, and interpretation of the data, or drafting of the paper. All authors must have critically reviewed and approved the contents of the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must steer clear of any potential or apparent conflicts of interest during the submission process. As INSLA employs a peer-review system, it is important for authors to avoid nominating reviewers from their own institution or those who have previously reviewed or commented on the manuscript, as this could compromise the integrity of the review process. The conference proceedings will consider any suggested peer-reviewers, but should these reviewers not respond, INSLA reserves the right to appoint other qualified reviewers.

Timeliness

Authors are advised to be prompt with their manuscript revisions. INSLA practices completion of article revision within two weeks. If any complications arise that render the authors unable to meet their manuscript revision deadline, the authors are responsible for informing the Editorial Office to request an extension. Manuscripts with no returned revised submission will be withdrawn from INSLA after the expiration date given.

In any case that the author wishes to withdraw a manuscript that has been submitted for intended publication in INSLA, the author must inform the Editorial Office of their withdrawal with appropriate reasons.

Copyright Assignment and Permissions

For all articles published in INSLA E-Proceedings, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.

In exceptional circumstances, articles may be licensed differently. If you have a specific condition (such as one linked to funding) that does not allow this license, please mention this to the INSLA Managing Editorial. Exceptions will be granted at the discretion of the publisher.

Reproducing Published Material from Other Publishers

It is absolutely essential that authors obtain permission to reproduce any published material (figures, schemes, tables, or any extract of a text) which does not fall into the public domain, or for which they do not hold the copyright. Permission should be requested by the authors from the copyright holder (usually the Publisher, please refer to the imprint of the individual publications to identify the copyright holder).

Permission is required for:

  • Your own works published by other publishers and for which you did not retain copyright.
  • Substantial extracts from anyone's works or a series of works.
  • Use of Tables, Graphs, Charts, Schemes, and Artworks if they are unaltered or slightly modified.
  • Photographs for which you do not hold copyright.

Permission is not required for:

  • Reconstruction of your own table with data already published elsewhere. In this case, the source of the data must be cited in the form of either "Data from..." or "Adapted from...".
  • Reasonably short quotes, which are considered fair use.
  • Graphs, Charts, Schemes, and Artworks that are completely redrawn by the authors and significantly changed beyond recognition.

Obtaining Permission

To avoid unnecessary delays in the publication process, authors are strongly advised to obtain permission to reproduce any copyrighted material at the earliest possible stage. If there is any doubt regarding copyright, authors should apply for permission before submission. INSLA E-Proceedings will not publish any material from other publications without prior permission.

Where permission is granted, the copyright holder may provide specific instructions on acknowledgment. Otherwise, the following style should be used:
"Reproduced with permission from [author], [book/conference proceedings title]; published by [publisher], [year]."
This acknowledgment must appear at the end of the caption of the relevant Table, Figure, or Scheme.

All other materials on this website (including text, computer code, artwork, photographs, images, audio, video, and audiovisual material) are owned by the International Seminar on Syariah and Law (INSLA) E-Proceedings, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) and its licensors.

Manuscript Format and Structure

Authors must carefully follow the required format to ensure an efficient review and publication process. Manuscripts prepared according to the INSLA template will significantly reduce editorial delays. Non-compliant submissions may be returned to authors for corrections, causing publication delays.

The Editorial Office reserves the right to make language corrections and suggestions for clarity and conciseness. Authors are therefore reminded to thoroughly proofread their manuscripts before final submission. Additional charges may be imposed if extensive corrections are required due to poor preparation.

Manuscript File Type

Manuscripts must be submitted in a single file and arranged in the following order:

  1. Title Page Information
  2. Manuscript Text
  3. Figures and/or Tables

Only Microsoft Word (.docx/.doc) files are accepted. Manuscripts submitted in PDF or other formats will not be considered.

Language

Accepted languages are English (UK or US), Arabic, or Bahasa Melayu (Malay-Malaysia). Mixing languages within a single manuscript is strictly prohibited. Submissions must be written clearly, free of grammatical errors, and follow academic style.

Authors whose native language is not English are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts professionally proofread or checked by a fluent English-speaking colleague before submission. Manuscripts with excessive language errors will be rejected.

Title Page Information

The title page should contain the following:

  • Title – Concise, informative, and written in CAPITAL LETTERS.
  • Author Names, Affiliations, and ORCID – Author names must be correctly spelled and presented in the format Last Name, Initial(s) (e.g., New, C.Y.). Affiliations should be listed in full (without abbreviations) and linked to authors using superscript numbers. Each author must provide an ORCID iD.
  • Corresponding Author – Clearly indicate the corresponding author with an asterisk (*). Provide only one active email address for correspondence after the list of affiliations.

Manuscript Style

Headings of sections must be bold and placed on a separate line. Subheadings should be given a brief title, italicised, and placed on their own line. Authors are advised to minimise the number of subsections. Headings and subheadings should be numbered sequentially (e.g., 1, 1.1, 1.2).

The manuscript should include the following sections:

  • Abstract – An executive summary (250–350 words) including the specific aims, a brief description of methods, main results, and conclusions, written in a single paragraph. References must not be included. Uncommon abbreviations should be avoided; if essential, they must be defined at first mention. Authors should highlight the contribution of their study to the international intellectual community.
  • Keywords – A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 keywords, separated by commas, indicating the essentials of the research.
  • Introduction and Literature Review – A concise review of relevant literature and previous works, with appropriate references. Clearly state the research objectives in the final paragraph.
  • Methodology – Provide sufficient detail to allow reproducibility. Established methods must be cited correctly; any modifications should be clearly explained. Include information on study design, instruments, and data analysis techniques.
  • Results – Present findings clearly and concisely in text, tables, or figures. Each table and figure must be numbered and accompanied by a caption. Do not repeat data in the text that is already presented in tables or figures.
  • Discussion – Interpret the results, highlight their significance, compare them with prior studies, and discuss implications for theory, practice, or future research. Limitations of the study must be acknowledged.
  • Conclusion – Provide a concise summary of the main findings and their implications. Avoid introducing new information.
  • References – All references must follow the APA 7th edition style. Ensure that all in-text citations appear in the reference list and vice versa. References must be accurate and complete, with journal titles italicised and volume numbers in bold.

Tables and Figures

  • Tables must be numbered consecutively and given clear, descriptive titles (placed above the table).
  • Figures must be numbered consecutively and accompanied by titles (placed below the figure).
  • All tables and figures must be cited in the text and should complement (not duplicate) the content.

Footnotes

Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. They must be numbered consecutively within the text and placed at the bottom of the page where they appear.

Appendices

If necessary, appendices should be placed after the references. Label them as Appendix A, Appendix B, etc., and provide a title for each appendix.

Ethical Considerations

Authors must ensure that their research complies with recognised ethical standards, especially for studies involving human participants. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming ethics committee approval (where applicable) and informed consent from participants.

Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to the INSLA E-Proceedings undergo a double-blind peer-review process. Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are anonymised by removing any author-identifying information from the text, acknowledgments, and file properties.

Submission Checklist

Before submission, authors should ensure that:

  • The manuscript complies with all formatting and style guidelines.
  • The abstract and keywords meet the specified requirements.
  • All references follow the APA 7th edition format and are accurate.
  • Figures and tables are numbered, titled, and cited correctly.
  • Ethical considerations have been addressed.
  • The submission file is in Microsoft Word format.

Non-compliant manuscripts may be returned to authors for correction before they proceed to review.