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Is it permissible to translate a book that speaks about Jesus Christ and his being the Savior and the Crucified, despite the differences between the Gospels, in exchange for financial compensation?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The default ruling on translating books is permissibility. However, the ruling on translating a specific book depends on its content. If it contains innovations (bid'ah), misguidance, or disbelief (kufr), then its translator shares in the sin. But if the content is scientific, pure religious knowledge, or permissible, there is no harm in translating it. The translation of atheistic philosophy books led to the spread of misguidance in Islamic history. Therefore, it is not permissible to translate and publish a book that includes a disbelieving ideology, due to the Almighty’s saying: (And do not cooperate in sin and aggression). It is permissible to translate such books for Muslim researchers or trusted research centers to refute them and clarify their misguidance, provided that they are not printed and published. One can contribute to the spread of Islam by translating pure Islamic books or books with scientific and medical benefits.

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

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