Is a translator held accountable and sinful for their translation errors to and from Arabic, whether in education, examinations, or the job market? And does this matter reach the level of disbelief (kufr)? If not, then what is the ruling on not correcting these errors after becoming aware of them: does this matter reach the level of disbelief, or sin without disbelief, or neither sin nor disbelief?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Error is forgiven for this nation by the grace and mercy of Allah, as stated in the verse: "And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred, but [only for] what your hearts intended." So there is no sin upon you for what you erred in translating.
As for correcting errors after translation, correction is obligatory if the erroneous translation leads to corruption (such as distorting a religious ruling or harming someone) and if rectification is possible. In other cases, however, correcting the erroneous translation is not obligatory. It is advisable to turn away from obsessive thoughts and ignore them.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/184286
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 184286
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy