بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

One of the most esteemed Ash’ari theologians of our era, Shaykh Sa’id Foudah said that if a particular word, like yad (literally: “hand”), when translated literally has the same figurative meanings in the target language, you could translate it literally. It would be useful to add a footnote that the figurative meaning is intended.

However, if that’s not the case, like with sāq (literally: “shin”), then it shouldn’t be translated literally. Because if it doesn’t carry the same figurative meaning in the target language, why should one translate it literally to begin with?

The point of translation is to convey the meanings after all, not just merely the words.

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جَزَاكَ اللهُ خَيْرًا