AL-WASAṬIYYAH  is an academic peer-reviewed journal published annually by the International Peace College South Africa (IPSA). It has an international editorial board representing various fields of research. The journal publishes original research articles in both English and Arabic. Special issues may deal with a specific theme or publish the proceedings of a conference. “AL-WASAṬIYYAH” publishes research that meets the following criteria: scientific rigor, cognitive value, linguistic integrity, and documentation accuracy, as well as the conditions outlined below:

 Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

The authors (s) must follow the Manuscript Preparation Guidelines in preparing the manuscript before submission.

1. The research has not been previously published in another journal. It should not be part of any previously published research or a university thesis, and the researcher must sign a pledge form stating that the research will not be published or previously submitted for publication in another journal. After it has been published in “AL-WASAṬIYYAH”, the author must not seek publication in a different journal. All manuscripts should be submitted online or via e-mail rpanday@ipsa-edu.org.
2. To ensure the confidentiality and impartiality of the peer-review process, the researcher’s name, or any indication of it should not be mentioned in the body of the research. The title page should include: (i)The name (s) of the author (s) (ii) The title (iii)The affiliation (s) and address (es) of the author (s) (iv)The e-mail address. The total number of words in the research, including references and appendices, should not exceed (8000-10000). Paper containing more than 10000 words will be returned to the author (s) to abridge. The submitted manuscript should include a bio-data section of no more than 120 words.
3. The abstract should not exceed 250 words in length. There should be no undefined acronyms or unspecified references in the abstract. The document should include 5–6 keywords that can be used for indexing purposes. At the end of the document, the author may include an acknowledgement section (if applicable).
4. Both English and Arabic articles must be written in Garamond, size 12. Papers should have 2.5 cm margins and should be typed in double-space (single space for footnotes), on one side of the paper only (preferably A4) with wide margins. Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible, but not at the cost of clarity.
5. The author divides his article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered. The abstract should not be included in section numbering.
6. In terms of documentation, the journal uses the APA style for scientific publications, and the researcher must follow the standards of citation, source documentation, and scientific research ethics in accordance with this system. For more information, visit (https://www.apa.org).

The author must ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). When a citation is cited as 'in press,' it means that it has been accepted for publication.

7. Tables and figures should be included in the article rather than at the end. It should be mentioned that the article will be printed in black and white, even though the online version may have colourful figures (if any).
8. Standardization of the diacritic marks is crucial when transliterating Arabic. Please follow the standardized transliteration table below:

Chart of Arabic Consonants

ء               ʾ	ر           r	غ   gh
ب             b	ز          z	ف     f
ت              t	س         s	ق     q
ث            th	ش       sh	ك     k
ج              j	ص        ṣ	ل      l
ح              ḥ	ض        ḍ	م     m
خ            kh	ط          ṭ	ن     n
د              d	ظ          ẓ	ه      h
ذ            dh	ع          ʿ	و     w
ي             y

Chart of Arabic Vowels

Short	a	i	u
Long	أ        ā	ي         ī	و       ū

9. The journal is highly strict about plagiarism, and before sending any work for peer review, it utilizes the Turnitin plagiarism software to check for any plagiarism. If a submitted manuscript contains minor or major plagiarism, the journal retains complete power to reject the manuscript for review.
10. The journal follows double blind peer review policy. All papers are sent to two reviewers (two experts in respective field) who will review the paper in the light of journal's guidelines. A systematic review and publication policy is followed by the journal:
11. The submitted article is acknowledged within a month.
12. The manuscript can either be accepted without any changes, accepted with minor changes, or rejected.
13. The review reports will be sent to the authors including all terms and conditions of the publication.
14. The accepted paper is processed for publication (soft copy) upon the successful completion of the journal’s terms and conditions.
15. Proof Reading: The managing editor will send the processed paper for publication (MS Word) to the author/corresponding author for proofreading.
16. The paper is published online first. The managing editor will notify the author/corresponding author about online publication with the necessary download link.
17. The journal is published in print within one month of online publication.
18. Copyrights for articles published in the journal are retained by the IPSA Journal of Islamic Studies.   
19. E-Publication first allows PDF versions of articles that have been peer-reviewed and accepted, to be hosted online prior to their inclusion in a final printed journal.  
20. Each article published in IPSA Journal of Islamic and Arabic Studies is assigned a DOI number (Digital Object Identifier), which appears beneath the author's affiliation in the published paper.  
21. The research published in the journal expresses the opinions of its author, not the opinion of the journal.