Translating the Most Beautiful Names of Allah into other languages is a commendable act, and rather obligatory if it becomes a means of guidance to the way of Allah.
Allah Almighty is the Lord of the Worlds, and He sent the Messengers to guide people to worship Allah alone. Each Prophet was sent with the language of his people, so that they can understand him. However, Allah sent Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) to the whole world. This means that Islam is a universal message that has to be imparted to people with different tongues.
It is well known that not all people can speak Arabic, and there is nothing in Shari`ah obliging people to read Arabic, except when reading the Glorious Qur’an. Moreover, Muslim scholars legalized translating the meanings of the Qur’an into other languages. It may even be obligatory if it is a way to propagate Islam, because calling others to Islam is an obligation, and so is everything that helps in that direction.
It is a part of faith to know Allah’s Names and Attributes, and this is not necessarily in Arabic. It may be in any language other than Arabic, on condition that the person who undertakes the task of rendering Allah’s Names and Attributes into other languages must be well aware of their meanings, so that he can impart the real significance of these Names.
A Muslim must adhere to Allah, implore Him with His Names and praise Him with His Attributes. So language is not the criterion for sincerity with Allah; a Muslim implores Allah with his heart and the tongue formulates man’s feelings into words.
In addition, translating the Islamic teachings, its rulings and methodology in `Aqidah (creed), Fiqh (jurisprudence), Tafsir (exegesis of the Qur’an) and other branches of Shar`i sciences is a practical application of the universality of the Islamic message.
The Standing Committee on Scientific Research and Fatwas in Saudi Arabia states the following:
“It is permissible to translate the Most Beautiful Names of Allah into another language other than Arabic for non-Arabs to understand them, on condition that the person appointed to do it is well learned in both languages, the source language [Arabic] and the target language. Also, it is good to translate the meanings of the Qur’an and Prophetic hadiths into other languages, so that non-Arab Muslims can understand their religion.”