Aims and Scope

AFKAR aims to promote rigorous and original scholarship in the field of Islamic creed (‘aqidah) and Islamic intellectual tradition. The journal provides an academic forum for critical engagement with foundational doctrines of Islam and their intellectual, spiritual, and rational elaborations across classical and contemporary contexts.

The scope of AFKAR encompasses Islamic theology (‘aqidah) as a foundational discipline, focusing on the principles of belief, doctrinal formulations, and theological worldviews as derived from the Qur’an, Sunnah, and authoritative Islamic scholarship. Distinct from this, the journal also covers ‘Ilm al-Kalam as a systematic and rational theological discipline, including its historical development, schools, methodologies, and contemporary applications in addressing philosophical and ideological challenges.

In the area of Islamic philosophy, AFKAR welcomes studies on metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and intellectual history, with particular emphasis on Islamic logic (mantiq) as a methodological tool in reasoning, argumentation, and knowledge formation within Islamic scholarship. Contributions may examine classical philosophical texts, conceptual analyses, and the interaction between philosophy, theology, and revelation.

Sufism (Tasawwuf) is recognised as a core dimension of Islamic thought within the journal’s scope, addressing spiritual anthropology, purification of the soul, ethical cultivation, and experiential knowledge of faith. Building upon this foundation, AFKAR encourages research on Islamic psychospirituality and Islamic psychotherapy, including theoretical frameworks, spiritual psychology, and therapeutic models rooted in Sufi teachings, Islamic anthropology (nafs, qalb, rūḥ, ‘aql), and the Islamic worldview.

AFKAR also provides space for comparative religion and interreligious studies, including comparative theological analysis, philosophical engagement between Islam and other religious traditions, and interfaith dialogue addressing shared ethical concerns, doctrinal differences, and contemporary socio-religious challenges. Submissions that foster intellectual dialogue, mutual understanding, and critical comparison grounded in sound scholarship are particularly welcomed.

The journal accepts manuscripts in Malay, English, and Arabic, and seeks contributions that demonstrate originality, methodological rigor, and significant contribution to the advancement of Islamic theology, philosophy, spirituality, and interreligious thought.