Al-Hikmah is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics and responsible research practices. Peer review is central to scholarly publishing and depends on trust and ethical conduct from all parties, including authors, editors, and reviewers. To uphold quality and integrity, Al-Hikmah implements a rigorous peer review process aligned with its academic objectives.

Reviewers follow the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers, which outline essential principles for responsible reviewing. These guidelines serve as a key reference for journals and editors, and act as an educational tool for training researchers and students.

Type of Peer Review

Al-Hikmah adopts a double-blind peer review process, ensuring that the identity of reviewers remains unknown to the authors throughout and after the review process, while the identity of the authors is also concealed from the reviewers. Accordingly, authors are required to submit two versions of the manuscript: (1) a complete version including a title page with full author information, and (2) the main manuscript with no identifying author details, intended for peer review.

Peer Review Process

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening to assess their relevance, general content, and compliance with Al-Hikmah’s submission guidelines. Manuscripts deemed potentially suitable for publication will be evaluated for alignment with the journal’s aims and academic scope. If necessary, the corresponding author may be contacted to revise the manuscript prior to peer review. Once the manuscript passes initial editorial screening, it will be forwarded for evaluation through a double‑blind peer review process involving at least two independent expert reviewers, who will assess its scholarly quality, originality, and methodological rigour.

All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents throughout the process. The Editor holds the final responsibility for the acceptance or rejection of all articles, and the Editor’s decision is final.

Criteria for Assessment

The manuscript is assessed based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to the journal’s scope and aims
• Originality and scholarly contribution
• Coherence and rigour of analysis
• Theoretical and conceptual depth
• Clarity, language quality, and technical precision

To uphold academic integrity, the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept confidential throughout the review. This applies equally to submissions from editorial board members.

Referee Reports

Upon receiving an email invitation to review a journal article, the referee should respond by clicking the provided link to indicate whether they are able to review the manuscript. Following this, the referee can proceed with the steps outlined on the website. The referee may either fill in the comments for the author box or upload a file with their comments. Later, each reviewer is required to make an initial decision by selecting one of the options provided.

1. Accept submission: The manuscript meet the standards of the journal and is ready for the copyediting and publication process.
2. Revisions required: Minor revisions are needed, which can be re-reviewed by the referee or accepted by the editor.
3. Resubmit for review: Major revisions are required with another round of peer review.
4. Resubmit elsewhere: The manuscript does not fit and meet the standards of the journals or the journal’s focus and scope.
5. Decline submission: The manuscript is rejected due to significant weakness and not meeting the journal’s standards

Duration of Review Process

The typical duration of the peer review process ranges from 1 month to 3 months, depending on the availability of reviewers and the complexity of the manuscript. The editorial team strives to ensure timely and efficient reviews while upholding the quality and integrity of the evaluation process.

Final Report and Decision

Based on the referee reports and recommendations, together with the revisions submitted by the author(s), the Editor will make the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of the manuscript. The decision will be communicated to the author(s) via email.

For full details on reviewer responsibilities and conflict-of-interest policies, refer to the Ethics Statement section. https://spaj.ukm.my/jalhikmah/index.php/jalhikmah/ethics

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Publication Frequency

This journal is published twice a year (June and December)

Article Publication Fee

Al-Hikmah is an open access journal. Article accepted for publication is required to pay as follows:
Articles written in English/ Malay/ Arabic: RM250.00 (USD70)
Waiver policy is not applicable. The payment method will be notified by the editor after the acceptance of the paper. 

Publication of Article Types

Original Research Articles: Research papers report original research in all fields of Islamic Studies/ Dakwah and must aim at a wide readership. Research papers must have a minimum of 15 references. Word count: 4,000 – 7,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables and figures).
Review Articles: Authors are encouraged to discuss with the Chief Editor regarding review articles.
Book Reviews: Book reviews should be about 1000- 2000 words (including references, tables and figure).
Research Notes: Articles seeking to advance a new idea, theoretical perspective, research program, or methodological approach. The length of text should be around 1,000-1,200 words. 

Copyright & Licensing Statement

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submitted work does not infringe any existing copyright. Upon submission of the final manuscript, permission and evidence must be provided for any third‑party copyrighted material. © 2025 Al‑Hikmah – Journal of Islamic Da’wah. Upon formal acceptance and completion of the copyright transfer agreement, UKM Press, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia holds the copyright to the published article. All articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY‑NC 4.0).

Digital Archiving Policy

Al‑Hikmah ensures that all published content remains permanently accessible through multiple, trusted archiving platforms to safeguard long-term access and integrity.

1. National Digital Archive
   Compliant with the National Library of Malaysia policy via submission to the OPAC PNM, contributing metadata and bibliographic records as mandated.

2. PKP Preservation Network & LOCKSS
   Journal content is automatically preserved through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) via OJS, operating as a dark archive to safeguard the content in cases where the journal website becomes unavailable. Using the LOCKSS (Lots Of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) infrastructure, the system deposits distributed copies among partner institutions, with frequent fixity checks and peer‑based error repair mechanisms to ensure authenticity, redundancy, and recoverability. 

3. Institutional Repository – UJAR
   Full-text articles are also uploaded to the UKM Journal Article Repository (UJAR), hosted on the EPrints 3 platform, guaranteeing open-access for readers and long-term preservation even if the journal ceases operation.

Publisher

Al-Hikmah is published by
Research Centre for Dakwah and Leadership
Faculty of Islamic Studies
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
43600 UKM Bangi
Selangor Darul Ehsan
Malaysia.