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What is the ruling on saying "brb" (be right back), "tite" (bye, derived from "tata"), "welcom" (welcome), and "bye" in Islamic Sharia?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for an Arab to speak non-Arabic words out of necessity or benefit, such as to be kind to someone who understands them or to explain something to someone who is not fluent in Arabic, as the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did with Umm Khalid using the word "sana."

However, habitually using non-Arabic words without necessity is reprehensible for several reasons: 1. Replacing what is better with what is worse; for example, "peace" (salam) is better than "bye." 2. Imitating non-Muslims, which affects one's character and religion. 3. Contradicting the guidance of the Prophet and the predecessors in venerating the Arabic language, the language of the Qur'an.

Scholars have disliked the habitual use of non-Arabic speech because it is a symbol of Islam and the language of the Qur'an. They mentioned that learning Arabic is a communal obligation (fard kifayah), and it may become an individual obligation (fard ayn) for understanding the Book and the Sunnah, and that habitually using a language affects one's intellect, character, and religion.

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

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