Al-Mada: Jurnal Agama, Sosial, dan Budaya is committed to maintaining an ethical, transparent, and responsible manuscript submission and publication process. Manuscript withdrawal should be avoided once a submission has entered editorial assessment or peer review, as the process requires considerable time and effort from authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

The journal establishes the following policy on manuscript withdrawal.

1. General Policy

Authors are strongly discouraged from withdrawing manuscripts after submission. By submitting a manuscript to Al-Mada, authors confirm that the work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration by another journal.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to another journal while it is under consideration by Al-Mada. Simultaneous submission and duplicate publication are considered violations of publication ethics.

Withdrawal requests may be considered in exceptional circumstances, provided that the corresponding author submits a formal written request explaining the reasons for withdrawal. The request must be approved by the editorial office before the manuscript is considered withdrawn.

2. Withdrawal During Peer Review

If authors request withdrawal while a manuscript is undergoing peer review, the corresponding author must provide a written explanation to the editorial office.

The editorial team will assess the request based on its circumstances, including whether the manuscript has already been assigned to reviewers or substantial editorial resources have been expended.

Authors must not assume that a manuscript has been withdrawn until they receive written confirmation from the editorial office.

3. Withdrawal After Acceptance

Withdrawal requests submitted after a manuscript has been accepted for publication will be subject to careful editorial assessment. Authors must provide a compelling justification for the request.

The editorial office will consider the stage of publication, the reasons for withdrawal, and any relevant ethical or legal concerns before making a decision. If the manuscript has already been published online or in an issue, the matter will be handled in accordance with the journal's Correction and Retraction Policy, as applicable.

4. Withdrawal Requests and Publication Ethics

Withdrawal may be considered when there are legitimate reasons, including substantial errors affecting the validity of the research, unresolved authorship disputes, ethical concerns, or other exceptional circumstances.

An author who wishes to withdraw a manuscript because it has been accepted by another journal must explain the circumstances to the editorial office. Authors are expected to respect the exclusivity of the submission process and must not seek publication of the same manuscript in multiple journals simultaneously.

The journal will assess each request fairly and consistently, taking into account publication ethics and the interests of all parties involved.

5. Misconduct and Editorial Action

If evidence indicates that a manuscript has been submitted simultaneously to multiple journals, or that an author has attempted to withdraw a manuscript in order to publish the same work elsewhere without proper notification, the editorial team may investigate the matter.

Any action taken will be proportionate to the circumstances and consistent with the journal's Publication Ethics policy. Where appropriate, the journal may reject the manuscript, suspend its editorial processing, or notify the relevant institutional authorities in accordance with applicable ethical procedures.

The journal will not automatically remove previously published articles or impose sanctions on an author's institution solely because a withdrawal request has been submitted.

6. Procedure for Requesting Withdrawal

Authors requesting withdrawal must:

1. Submit a formal written request to the editorial office through the journal's official communication channel.

2. Provide the manuscript title, manuscript identification number, and a clear explanation of the reasons for withdrawal.

3. Obtain agreement from all co-authors and confirm that they are aware of and approve the request.

4. Wait for written confirmation from the editorial office before treating the manuscript as withdrawn.

The editorial team reserves the right to request additional information when necessary to assess the request.

7. Final Provisions

This policy aims to protect the integrity of scholarly publishing while ensuring fair treatment of authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. All withdrawal requests will be assessed individually and handled in accordance with the journal's editorial policies and recognized principles of publication ethics.