Arabic names not to be translated in official notifications

ISLAMABAD: Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony has issued notifications to all federal and provincial government departments to use Arabic names as is, instead of using their translation or translated words in their place.

The notification was issued after the Cabinet Division approved the proposal in a meeting held on November 8 this year.

Sharing details of the development, an official in the Ministry of Religious Affairs said that according to a notification, Arabic names such as Allah, Nabi, Rasool, A’yah, Masjid, Namaz, Salah, Roza and Soam should be used as they are.



“All concerned departments have been asked to take necessary steps to implement this directive,” he said.

The official said the meanings of some words or their connotations change when translated.

This idea was initiated by a government schoolteacher in Faisalabad, who raised the issue using various platforms — especially the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) — to file applications.

The Federal Ministry of Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony also took up the matter with the CII and later tabled a proposal that was presented to the prime minister.

However, the premier turned it down and directed that it be presented before the Cabinet Division for approval.

“The proposal was approved after a long struggle and now all federal and provincial government departments have been directed to implement it immediately,” the official said.