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What is the ruling on approving translations that contain insults to God or matters of disbelief (kufr)? Is such approval considered kufr, even if the person dislikes what they are approving? And what is the ruling on approving the translation of "Jesus Christ" as "Oh my God" in an exclamation context? Is that considered disbelief (kufr)?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

A distinction should be made in the ruling on translating words of disbelief between impermissibility (haram) and disbelief (kufr). Translation is like writing; anything that is not permissible to write is not permissible to translate, except for a legitimate Shar'i interest, such as for warning. Whoever translates words of disbelief, being pleased with them or approving of them, is a disbeliever. However, whoever translates them while denouncing them does not disbelieve, "because the conveyor of disbelief is not a disbeliever." The ruling on those who review translations is the same as that on the translator himself, because they collaborate. It is obligatory to abandon the translation of meanings of disbelief and anything that contains Shar'i prohibitions.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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