Arabic translation from an image

July 24, 2013 8:07 AM

Hello, I am looking to find out what this tag reads in English: http://oi44.tinypic.com/w2j8t0.jpg Thanks very much to anyone who speaks Arabic and can translate this. Thanks
posted by bostonhill to Religion & Philosophy (6 answers total)

Best answer: It reads, "There is no god but God and Mohammed is His Messenger."
(Disclaimer: I don't read/speak Arabic. My partner is from Saudi so he translated it.)
posted by gursky at 8:23 AM on July 24, 2013

My native Arabic speaker husband seconds Gursky's partner's translation and adds that it's from the Quran.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 8:51 AM on July 24, 2013

Best answer: Yup, more specifically it's the Shahada.
posted by xqwzts at 8:53 AM on July 24, 2013

Response by poster: Thank You!

Is this Shahada from Shia or Sunni's branch of Islam?
posted by bostonhill at 10:42 AM on July 24, 2013

I think the Shia add a bit about Ali, but I am more familiar with Sunni Islam so I can't say for sure what that bit is.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 11:19 AM on July 24, 2013

Best answer: This is the bit that's common to both - the difference is that the Shia add an extra sentence referring to Ali, but the absence of that sentence doesn't mean it's a Sunni tag.

More specifically:

- When you remove the "fancy" calligraphy that tag simply reads "لَا إِلٰهَ إِلَّا الله مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ الله" ["There is no god but God and Mohammad is His Messenger."] : This is an affirmation of the belief in God and Mohammad which is the basic tenet of all Islam. Both Sunni and Shia Muslims recite this in their prayers.

- وعليٌ وليُّ الله ["and Ali is the wali of God"] This is missing from your tag and it's what would have identified it as exclusively Shia.

Without that extra sentence there is no way to determine if it is supposed to be Sunni or Shia.
posted by xqwzts at 5:59 PM on July 24, 2013 [1 favorite]