Expert: Sirine Malas - 2/7/2011

Question
Hi Sirine,

I want to get a tattoo in arabic. Could you please translate these phrases for me?
Have faith
Eternal faith
Forever faithful
In God, I trust

Thank you!

Answer
Hi Ayesha,

OK exact translation as in word for word is difficult.It is like having two ways of saying somehting like : The husband of Ayesha instead of Ayesha's husband or Ayeasha's spouse. You see I used three sentences here for the same exact meaning, Arabic is a very rich language so you can imagine the options. If you need further explanation please don't hesitate to come back.As this is for a tattoo I will give you several suggestions for each of your sentences, this way you can pick the one that suits you best. I will try to choose short and common,simple words.

Have Faith
كن مؤمنا
OR
ليكن لديك إيمان

Eternal Faith
إيمان أبدي
OR
إيمان لا ينتهي

Forever Faithful
If you are male :                                                 مؤمن للأبد
If you are female (which I think you are from your name Ayesha)= مؤمنة للأبد
OR
أبدامؤمن
أبدامؤمنة

In God, I turst
بالله أثق
OR
بالله أوقن

Enjoy your tattoo :-)

Cheers
Sirine

P.s. Don't forget that Arabic is written right to left.