The essentials of this journal's publishing ethics for all groups involved in the publication process are as follows:

Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication
Publishing in the peer-reviewed Al-Ihkam helps build a respected knowledge network and reflects the quality of authors and institutions. To maintain scientific integrity, all parties—authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, and society—must uphold high ethical standards.

Allegations of Research Misconduct
Research misconduct means fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or plagiarism in producing, performing, or reviewing research and writing the article by authors, or in reporting research results. When authors are found to have engaged in research misconduct or other serious irregularities, editors have a responsibility to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record.

If scientific misconduct or the presence of other substantial research irregularities is a possibility, the allegations are shared with the corresponding author, who, on behalf of all of the coauthors, is requested to provide a detailed response. After the response is received and evaluated, additional review and expert involvement (such as statistical reviewers) may be requested. For cases in which it is unlikely that misconduct has occurred, clarifications, additional analyses, or both, published as letters to the editor and often including a correction notice and correction to the published article, are sufficient.

We expect institutions to conduct a thorough and appropriate investigation into allegations of scientific misconduct. Ultimately, authors, journals, and institutions have an important obligation to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record. By responding appropriately to concerns about scientific misconduct and taking necessary actions based on the evaluation of these concerns, such as corrections, retractions, and retractions with replacement, this journal, in collaboration with the Faculty of Sharia, State Islamic University of Madura, as the publisher, will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of ensuring the validity and integrity of the scientific record.

Plagiarism
Authors must not use the words, figures, or ideas of others without attribution. All sources must be cited at the point they are used, and reuse of wording must be limited and be attributed or quoted in the text. Al-Ihkam performs similarity checking by using Turnitin and our own software to detect submissions that overlap with published and submitted manuscripts. The maximum similarity that this journal will tolerate is 20%. Manuscripts that are found to have been plagiarized from a manuscript by other authors, whether published or unpublished, will be rejected, and the authors may incur sanctions. Any published articles may need to be corrected or retracted.

Publication Decisions
The editor of the Al-Ihkam is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by any legal requirements then in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editors may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Duties of Editors
Responsibilities: The editor of a journal holds a vital position, making key editorial decisions on all peer-reviewed submissions.

Fair Play: At all times, an editor reviews manuscripts based solely on their intellectual content, regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, or political views. Editors must assess submissions objectively, focusing on academic merit and remaining free from commercial or personal interests.

Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

Transparency Academic: The editor should maintain the transparency of the academic research and record, preclude professional needs from cooperating with ethical standards, and always be willing to publish retractions, rectifications, and erratums when required.

Rectitude: The promotion of research integrity must always be maintained. Should the publisher suspect any form of research misconduct at any stage, it must be promptly and thoroughly investigated with the appropriate authorities. Any suspicious conduct identified during the peer review process should also be addressed diligently.

Duties of Reviewers:
Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer reviewers help the editor make editorial decisions and, through communication with the author, can also help the author improve the manuscript.

Promptness: Any chosen referee who feels unable to review the research in a manuscript, or knows timely review is not possible, should inform the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must remain confidential. They cannot be shared with or discussed among others unless permitted by the editor. Because peer review is confidential, reviewers must not disclose any information about the review without the editor's approval. Reviewers are also required to maintain confidentiality by following the Faculty of Sharia, State Islamic University of Madura’s policy on the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies during peer review.

Citations: Reviewers should not suggest citations to the reviewer’s (or their associates’) work unless the suggested citations are for genuine scientific reasons and not with the intention of increasing the reviewer’s citation count or enhancing the visibility of their work (or that of their associates). Editors may remove inappropriate citations from reviewer comments.

Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, providing a detailed, critical, constructive, and unbiased evaluation of the scientific content of the work in a timely manner. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers are expected to point out relevant published work that the authors have not cited. If an observation, derivation, or argument has been previously reported, it should be supported with the appropriate citation. Reviewers should also inform the editor of any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript being reviewed and other published papers they are aware of. Additionally, reviewers must notify the journal editor of any ethical concerns they encounter, such as violations in the ethical treatment of animal or human subjects.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. Reviewers notify the journal editor about any financial or personal conflict of interest and decline to review the manuscript when a possibility of such a conflict exists.

Duties of Authors:
Reporting standards: Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention: Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data in line with the duties of the publishers, if practicable, and should, in any event, be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: The authors must not submit or publish manuscripts that report essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical and unacceptable. If proven, such authors will be blacklisted by Al-Ihkam.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Manuscript: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies: Authors are required to declare any use of generative AI tools during manuscript preparation at the time of submission. Al-Ihkam allows the responsible use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies, provided that human oversight is maintained. Authors must ensure the accuracy, completeness, and objectivity of any AI-generated content, including references. All such uses must be clearly disclosed in a Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies, specifying the tool’s name, its intended purpose, and the extent of human editing or supervision involved.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/ her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Permissions: Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online formats and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Ethical Oversight: If a research work involves chemicals, humans, animals, procedures, or equipment with unusual hazards, the author must clearly disclose these in the manuscript to comply with ethical standards for animal and human research. When necessary, authors should provide legal and ethical clearance from an appropriate association or authority. If confidential data or business/marketing practices are part of the research, authors must clearly justify how such information will be securely protected or disclosed.

Duties of the Publisher
Guardianship of the scholarly record
The publisher plays a supportive, investing, and nurturing role in scholarly communication but is also ultimately accountable for ensuring best practices in its publications. The Faculty of Sharia, State Islamic University of Madura, as the publisher, takes its responsibility for safeguarding the scholarly record very seriously. Our journals document "the minutes of science," and we recognize our duty as their guardians, especially through the ethical guidelines we uphold.

The Faculty of Sharia, the State Islamic University of Madura, is adopting policies and procedures to support editors, reviewers, and authors in fulfilling their ethical duties in accordance with the guidelines. We work with other publishers and industry associations to set standards for best practices on ethical matters, errors, and retractions.

Handling of Unethical Publishing Behavior: If scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism is alleged or confirmed, the publisher, working closely with the editors, will take the necessary steps to clarify the issue and, if needed, correct the article. This may involve promptly publishing an erratum, clarification, or, in severe cases, retracting the work. The publisher and editors will take reasonable actions to detect and prevent the publication of work involving research misconduct, and will never encourage or knowingly permit such behavior.

Access to Journal Content
The Faculty of Sharia, the State Islamic University of Madura, is committed to the permanent preservation and accessibility of scholarly research and ensures this by partnering with organizations and maintaining our own digital archive.

Safeguard editorial independence
We are committed to ensuring that the potential for advertising, reprinting, or other commercial revenue has no impact on or influence over editorial decisions. In addition, the editorial staff is forbidden to use information acquired through their work for personal gain.

Provide editors with technical, procedural & legal support
We support editors in their communications with other journals and/or publishers when this is useful to them, and are prepared to provide specialized legal review and counsel if necessary.

Educate researchers on publishing ethics
We also provide extensive education and advice on publishing ethics standards, particularly for early-career researchers.