About the Journal
About The Journal
Shariah Studies is an academic research journal established in 2024 as an initiative of the Department of Shariah, Faculty of Arabic & Islamic Studies, Allama Iqbal Open University. The journal is dedicated to the advancement of scholarly research in Shariah and Islamic jurisprudence, with a focus on both classical foundations and contemporary legal issues. It provides a rigorous peer-reviewed platform for critical, analytical, and interdisciplinary studies that engage with the legal, ethical, and social dimensions of Islamic law. By fostering dialogue among scholars from diverse intellectual traditions, Shariah Studies aims to contribute meaningfully to the global discourse on Islamic law and Muslim societies.
Scope
Shariah Studies is a rigorously peer-reviewed, trilingual (English, Arabic, and Urdu), biannual research journal dedicated to the scholarly study of Shariah (Islamic law and jurisprudence) and it’s related legal disciplines. The journal places Islam and the Islamic intellectual tradition at the center of academic inquiry, promoting critical, analytical, and methodologically sound research on the legal, ethical, theological, and social dimensions of Islamic law and Muslim societies.
The journal welcomes original research across all major branches of Islamic law, including but not limited to Fiqh and Usul al-Fiqh, Ahkam al-Qur’an, Hadith and Sunnah as sources of law, Maqasid al-Shariah, Siyasah Shar‘iyyah, Ahwal al-Shakhsiyyah (family law), Hudud, Qisas, and Ta‘zir (criminal law), Mu‘amalat and Islamic commercial and financial law, Qada and Shahadat (judicial process and evidentiary rules), Siyar (Islamic international law), and contemporary legal challenges such as bioethics, human rights, governance, public policy, and legal reform in Muslim societies.
Shariah Studies adopts an interdisciplinary, comparative, and cross-national approach, encouraging engagement between Islamic jurisprudence and modern legal systems, social sciences, and humanities. The journal serves as a global forum for advancing academic discourse on Islamic law within both historical and contemporary contexts.
Aims
The primary aims of Shariah Studies are to:
- Advance high-quality scholarly research in Shariah and Islamic jurisprudence through rigorous peer review and academic excellence.
- Promote critical and analytical engagement with classical and contemporary issues in Islamic law and Muslim societies.
- Facilitate interdisciplinary dialogue between Islamic legal thought and modern legal, ethical, social, and political frameworks.
- Provide a global academic platform for scholars from diverse intellectual, methodological, and cultural backgrounds.
- Bridge scholarly traditions across linguistic and regional boundaries through its trilingual publication policy.
Objectives
The journal seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- To disseminate original and innovative research that contributes to the development of Islamic legal theory and practice.
- To encourage comparative and cross-national studies that examines Islamic law in relation to other legal systems and global challenges.
- To foster scholarly debate on classical doctrines and contemporary applications of Shariah in changing social, political, and economic contexts.
- To support research addressing emerging legal issues, including governance, human rights, bioethics, finance, and legal reform in Muslim societies.
- To strengthen academic collaboration among scholars from the Arab world, South Asia, and Western academia through multilingual scholarship.
- To nurture young and emerging scholars by providing an inclusive and intellectually stimulating research forum.
- To contribute to informed policy discussions and public understanding of Islamic law through academically grounded research.
