Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to confirm that their submission complies with all of the following requirements. Submissions that do not comply may be returned to the authors during initial editorial screening.

• The submission is original, has not been previously published, and is not currently under consideration by another journal, unless an appropriate explanation has been provided to the Editor.
• The submission file is prepared in Microsoft Word format and uses the official HIFI Manuscript Template .
• The manuscript fits the aims and scope of HIFI, particularly research addressing Islamic social finance and socioeconomic development, Sharia policy and accountability, or sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals.
• The Main Manuscript has been fully anonymised for double-blind peer review and contains no author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, funding information, conflict-of-interest statements, or other identifying information.
• The manuscript follows the Author Guidelines , official HIFI Manuscript Template, manuscript structure, and formatting requirements.
• References follow APA 7th edition consistently. Authors are encouraged to use reference-management software such as Mendeley, Zotero, or EndNote.
• The manuscript complies with HIFI's similarity requirement. The maximum permitted similarity is 20%.
• Authors have read and agree to comply with HIFI policies, including Publication Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, Peer Review Process, and Generative AI Key Principles.
• Where applicable, the authors have appropriately disclosed funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approval, prior dissemination, and matters involving human participants or sensitive data in the Author Declaration Statement .

Author Guidelines

Authors must prepare manuscripts using the official HIFI templates and follow the journal's Author Guidelines. Manuscripts that do not comply with the required template, anonymity requirements, or basic formatting standards may be returned for correction or declined during initial editorial screening.

Please download and use the following official HIFI files:

Paper Format

Authors should prepare the manuscript using the official HIFI Manuscript Template .

• Manuscripts are typically 6,000 to 8,000 words, including the abstract and references, depending on manuscript type and scholarly contribution.
• The main manuscript is generally organised as Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Literature Review, Methodology, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References.
• Results and Discussion may be combined where this improves the coherence of the manuscript.
• Review Articles and Case Studies may adapt the standard structure where appropriate, provided that the manuscript remains clearly organised and methodologically transparent.
• The abstract should contain approximately 150 to 250 words and should state the purpose, methodology or approach, principal findings, and originality or value of the study.
• Authors should provide 2 to 8 keywords, arranged alphabetically and separated by semicolons.
• References must follow APA 7th edition consistently.
• Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English.

Manuscript Types

During submission, authors will be asked to select a manuscript type. If an exact match is not available, please choose the closest fit. The editorial team may reassign the manuscript type during initial screening.

• Research Article: original empirical or conceptual research with a clear scholarly contribution and transparent methods.
• Review Article: a rigorous synthesis of the literature with an explicit approach and a clear agenda for future research.
• Case Study: a context-rich analysis of a real-world case with conceptual grounding and transferable insights.
• Book Review: an analytical review of a recent book relevant to the journal's scope.
• Editorial: a scholarly perspective on timely issues or debates within the journal's scope, typically commissioned by the editors.

Guidelines for Online Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted through the HIFI online submission system . The submission process consists of the following steps.

After Submission

After a manuscript has been submitted, it proceeds through HIFI's editorial and peer-review process.

Peer Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to HIFI first undergo an initial editorial screening to assess alignment with the journal's aims and scope, originality, formatting, ethical compliance, anonymity requirements, and basic scholarly quality. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be returned to authors or declined before peer review.

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are normally evaluated through double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another. Reviewers are selected on the basis of relevant subject expertise and are expected to provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based evaluations.

One peer-review round generally covers the process from initial submission through the first editorial decision. Additional review rounds may be required where substantive revisions are necessary.

Editorial Decisions

Following editorial assessment and peer review, manuscripts may receive one of the following decisions:

• Accept: the manuscript is suitable for publication without substantive revision.
• Minor Revision: publication may proceed after relatively limited amendments are satisfactorily completed.
• Major Revision: substantial amendments are required before the manuscript can be reconsidered for publication.
• Resubmit for Review: the manuscript requires fundamental revision and may be reconsidered as a substantially revised submission.
• Reject: the manuscript will not be considered further for publication in its current submission.

Copyright Notice

HIFI provides immediate open access to its published content and does not charge authors a submission fee or Article Processing Charge (APC).

Authors retain copyright to their published work. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence, which permits sharing and adaptation provided that appropriate credit is given to the original authors and source.

Privacy Statement

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