Authorship Criteria

Al-Hilal: Journal of Islamic Astronomy recognizes authorship as an important form of academic credit that entails responsibility and accountability for the integrity of scholarly work. Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to research in Islamic astronomy and related fields. It must not be assigned solely on the basis of academic position, institutional affiliation, seniority, funding, or general supervision.

1. Criteria for Authorship

To qualify for authorship, each individual must meet all four of the following criteria:

Substantial scholarly contribution: Make a significant contribution to the conception or design of the research, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data relevant to Islamic astronomy and related disciplines.
Manuscript preparation: Participate in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
Final approval: Approve the final version of the manuscript submitted for publication.
Accountability: Accept responsibility for all aspects of the work and ensure that any questions concerning its accuracy, validity, or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All individuals designated as authors must satisfy all four criteria. Contributors who meet the first criterion should be given the opportunity to participate in manuscript preparation, critical revision, and final approval so that they can fulfill the remaining requirements.

2. Author Contributions

All authors are expected to make meaningful intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript. Their contributions may involve the development of astronomical models or computational methods, astronomical observations, data collection and analysis, historical or textual investigation, interpretation of Islamic legal sources, or interdisciplinary analysis, depending on the nature of the study.

Authors must accurately describe their respective contributions and ensure that the contribution statement reflects the work actually performed. Where applicable, Al-Hilal: Journal of Islamic Astronomy encourages the use of the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to report individual contributions, including conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation, writing of the original draft, writing and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.

A contribution statement does not replace the requirement that every author satisfy all four authorship criteria.

3. Corresponding Author Responsibilities

The corresponding author serves as the primary contact between the journal and all co-authors throughout submission, peer review, revision, and publication. The corresponding author is responsible for:

Ensuring that all listed authors meet the journal's authorship criteria.
Confirming that all authors have approved the submitted manuscript and agreed to its submission to Al-Hilal: Journal of Islamic Astronomy.
Providing accurate author names, institutional affiliations, contact details, and contribution statements.
Ensuring that relevant declarations, including conflicts of interest, research ethics, funding sources, data availability, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI), are disclosed where applicable.
Communicating editorial decisions, reviewer comments, and substantive manuscript revisions to all co-authors.
Obtaining approval from all co-authors for the final version before publication.
Ensuring that any necessary permissions for the use of third-party materials, astronomical datasets, images, or other research resources have been obtained.

The corresponding author must not assume sole responsibility for decisions that require the agreement or approval of other authors.

4. Author Order and Changes in Authorship

The order of authors should be determined collectively by the authors according to their relative scholarly contributions and the conventions of their discipline. Al-Hilal: Journal of Islamic Astronomy does not prescribe a universal order of authorship.

Any addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors after submission must be supported by a reasonable explanation and approved in writing by all affected authors, including any author being added or removed. Requests must be submitted to the editorial office and are subject to editorial review and approval.

Changes in authorship must accurately reflect the contributions made to the research and must not be used to misrepresent individual involvement or circumvent the journal's authorship requirements. The journal may suspend editorial processing while a request for changes is being assessed.

5. Contributors Who Do Not Qualify for Authorship

Individuals whose contributions do not meet all four authorship criteria should not be listed as authors. Their contributions may instead be recognized in the Acknowledgments section, with their permission.

Examples include individuals who provide funding alone, general supervision, administrative assistance, technical support, routine astronomical observations without substantial intellectual involvement, data collection without meaningful participation in the research, language editing, or proofreading.

Honorary, guest, and ghost authorship are not permitted. All individuals who satisfy the authorship criteria should receive appropriate credit, while those who do not satisfy the criteria should not be listed as authors.

6. Ethical Compliance and Authorship Disputes

All authors share responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of the submitted and published work. They must ensure that research findings, astronomical calculations, observational data, historical sources, legal interpretations, and other evidence are reported honestly and appropriately attributed.

Concerns involving authorship eligibility, undisclosed contributions, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, or improper attribution should be addressed transparently. If an authorship dispute cannot be resolved among the authors, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institution or research organization for investigation.

The journal may suspend the editorial process while the dispute is being resolved and take appropriate action in accordance with its publication ethics policies and applicable scholarly publishing standards.

7. Use of Artificial Intelligence

AI tools, including generative AI systems, cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume the responsibilities and accountability required of authorship. Human authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and proper attribution of all submitted content.

Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation in accordance with the journal's applicable AI policy. Where relevant, the disclosure should identify the tools used and explain their role in preparing or analyzing the manuscript. AI-assisted outputs must be critically verified, particularly when they involve astronomical calculations, observational data, mathematical models, historical evidence, references, or interpretations of Islamic legal texts.

The use of AI tools does not replace the intellectual contribution, critical judgment, or accountability required of every author. Authors must also ensure that AI-assisted content does not introduce fabricated references, inaccurate calculations, unsupported claims, or violations of confidentiality and research ethics.

8. Declaration of Authorship

By submitting a manuscript to Al-Hilal: Journal of Islamic Astronomy, the corresponding author confirms, on behalf of all co-authors, that the authorship information is accurate, that all listed authors meet the stated criteria, that all authors have approved the submitted version, and that the manuscript complies with the journal's authorship requirements and publication ethics policies.