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What is the ruling on speaking Algerian Arabic, which contains eloquent and non-eloquent Arabic and French words?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

There is no harm in using non-Arabic words in speech if it is not possible to dispense with them and replace them with Arabic; due to the speaker's weak Arabic language skills, or the listener's lack of understanding of Arabic. However, if it is possible to dispense with them, then Arabic is better. A Muslim should not speak in a language other than Arabic except out of necessity, such as when something is known by its non-Arabic name, or because the listener understands little Arabic. But if a person is Arab and this thing has a name in Arabic, then other languages should not be used; because Arabic is the best, most complete, and most beautiful of languages, and the Qur'an was revealed in it, and it was the tongue of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him. When speaking with common people, one should use language they understand, even if it is in the colloquial dialect.

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

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