Correction and Retraction

AL-ARBAH: Journal of Islamic Finance and Banking is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Published articles are treated as permanent and are not altered or removed without a formal notice. When errors or problems are identified after publication, the journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and issues one of the notices described below.

1. Correction (Erratum or Corrigendum)

A correction is published when part of an article contains an error that does not undermine its main findings or conclusions.

  • Erratum: corrects an error introduced by the journal during editing or production.
  • Corrigendum: corrects a significant error made by the author(s), such as an error in data, a table, a figure, an author name, an affiliation, or a funding statement.

The correction notice is published in a subsequent issue and linked to the original article. The corrected article is also updated with a note stating the nature and date of the correction. Minor spelling or formatting errors that do not affect meaning may be corrected without a formal notice.

2. Expression of Concern

An expression of concern is issued when there is serious doubt about the reliability of an article’s data or findings, or about the integrity of its conduct, while an investigation is ongoing or its results are inconclusive. It is linked to the original article and may later be followed by a correction or a retraction.

3. Retraction

An article is retracted when:

  • there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable because of misconduct (such as data fabrication or falsification) or honest error (such as a miscalculation or experimental error);
  • it constitutes plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, beyond the journal’s similarity threshold;
  • it has been published previously elsewhere without proper disclosure (duplicate or redundant publication);
  • it contains material or data used without authorization;
  • it reports unethical research;
  • it was published as a result of a compromised peer-review process or manipulated authorship;
  • the authors failed to disclose a major conflict of interest that would have influenced the editorial decision.

The journal handles retractions as follows:

  • A retraction notice titled “Retraction: [article title]” is published in a subsequent issue. It states the reason for the retraction and who requested it (the author(s), the editors, or both).
  • The original article remains online, but it is clearly watermarked “RETRACTED” on every page of the PDF, and its landing page links to the retraction notice.
  • The article keeps its original DOI, and the metadata is updated through Crossref.

4. Removal

In exceptional cases, an article may be removed from the online platform. This applies where the content is defamatory, infringes legal rights, is the subject of a court order, or poses a serious risk to anyone if acted upon. The article’s metadata (title and authors) remains online with a notice explaining why the full text has been removed.

5. Replacement

When an article contains errors that could pose serious risks if acted upon, the authors may request that the original be retracted and replaced with a corrected version. The retraction notice explains the reason, and both versions remain linked.

How to request a correction or retraction

  • Authors who discover a significant error in their published article must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in correcting or retracting it.
  • Readers may report suspected errors or misconduct to the editorial office through the Contact page, or through the procedure described in Post Publication Discussions.
  • Allegations of misconduct are handled according to the Allegation of Research Misconducts policy.

The editors assess every request and give the authors an opportunity to respond. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision. Where appropriate, the journal informs the authors’ institutions and any indexing services concerned.