Dear Venerable @sujato (and everyone else reading, I will also mention @Gabriel_L),
Here is the Arabic translation of Metta sutta; first of its kind I believe, as I have never seen any translation of Pali text into Arabic before. I present it to SC team with gratitude, wishing your endeavours bear great fruit. It is to be under the Creative Commons licence (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International). Please let me know if you need me to check any issues with the implementation of the text on the web (of course it’s already not correctly positioned below).
I am very happy to have made this translation, the result is quite wonderful! Thank you Venerable @sujato for making this happen. Although this is just a tiny tiny translation, yet I felt obliged to disclose some important information about it for you to be aware of, before you embrace it on your website. Especially given that you have no means with which to evaluate or verify its content (unless you start learning Arabic, or find someone who already speaks it to make the evaluation on your behalf).
I have deliberately avoided translating in “classical” Arabic for so many reasons, the most significant of which are (1) It is too archaic and formal as to be incompatible with the original text, which is lively and simple; (2) The majority of people in the Arabic speaking world don’t fully understand classical Arabic; (3) It is not so closely related to the “vernacular” Arabic that we actually speak.
In that sense classical Arabic is no longer a spoken language, and this has been the case for quite a long time now (although it is still widely used and vehemently defended by orthodox institutions). Translating the suttas in classical Arabic would be very much like offering them in “Latin” to a French, Spanish, Italian, or Portuguese audience! Though there are some differences between various forms of vernacular Arabic (sometimes quite pronounced), the common language with which this translation is made will be quite easily understood probably everywhere in the Arab world, and certainly in the majority of Arab-speaking countries.
Now let me just put that out right at the beginning so that there is no confusion or misunderstanding at any point! With a BA in linguistics and professional career in translation behind me, and if I was to be confident for once: a reductionist, methodological, or scientific approach to translation, is not my path! While I have no quarrel at all with these approaches, they are just not my path. Especially those that contend to represent the “truth” about original texts. To me translation is an art of interpretation; a “cautious and loyal” interpretation, which means that there is always something quite “personal” about it, and consequently, no translation is ever “the right one”, or the “certain one” for me, even for the same text (over time)! Once i’m done with any text, it becomes just another translation and another interpretation out there in the world, that will not only appeal to some and fail to satisfy others, but will surely also sooner or later become outdated and irrelevant to the language and culture of future generations.
It is only in this context that my translation of this sutta, and of all upcoming translations -should I live- can be appreciated. I am constantly aware that I’m writing for a specific audience, however much vast it may be. And there are challenges which have to do with cultural conditioning and spiritual experiences that are at odds with those of Indian Buddhism; all of which will require attention not only through some introductory notes, but often in the translation itself, if it was to succeed at all in conveying the gist and spirit of the intended meaning. So for this sutta for example, I added two introductory notes to facilitate understanding, the first is about the monastic context, the second is about the concept of rebirth, the awareness of which will be necessary in order for certain readers to understand what the last verse of the sutta is even talking about (“will not lie again in a womb”). Please feel free to include or remove those introductory notes as you please.
Venerable @sujato I’m thankful for your above comments on the translation. Here is the Arabic text. Please let me know if you wish me to share it in a different format.
فيه حاجتين مهمين لفهم وتقدير النص ده بشكل افضل:
اولا، مع ان الكلام ده ممكن جدا ينطبق على عموم الناس، إلا انو موجه بالاساس لجماعة الرهبان او الزهّاده البوذيين.
ثانيا، البيت الاخراني بيشير لحالة “دايرة الميلاد”، اللي هي وجهة النظر الهنديه عموما اللي بتقول ان المخلوقات كلها بتتولد تاني بعد الموت، وبتفضل تتولد تاني بعد كل موت، وانها في حياتها بعد كل ميلاد بتتألم ومابتلاقيش راحه او سلام حقيقي. الخلاص في الفهم الهندي القديم هو الخروج من دايرة الميلاد دي (نيرفانا) عن طريق ان الواحد يستخدم حياته في انو مايتولدش تاني بعد الموت.
Translation of introductory notes:
There are two relevant points which may improve the understanding and appreciation of this text.
First, although this text may apply to all people, it is noteworthy that it was said in a Buddhist monastic renunciate context.
Secondly, the last verse is referring to the concept of “cyclic rebirth”, the general ancient Indian belief that all beings are reborn again after death, and that they continue to be reborn after each death, indefinitely, and that in each lifetime they basically experience much suffering, or absence of true happiness and peace. Salvation (or Nirvana) in the ancient Indian understanding is the deliverance from this cyclic existence, by using one’s life in such a way as to transcend rebirth.
خطبة البودا عن المحبه
(title: Buddha’s speech on metta)
أهو ده دين اللي من اهل الخير،
مريدين السلام:
لازم يكون مُصمِّم ومستقيم، مستقيم بالقوي.
مهاود، رقيق، ومش متعالي.
عايش مَرضي وسعيد بالشئ القليل،
احتياجاته سهله وحياته مش مضغوطه،
ملكات عقله هاديه وتقديراته راسيه،
حساس ومش طمّاع مع اللي بيحتاجلهم.
ولا يعملش ايتها عمله
تحاسبو عليها الناس الواعيه.
ويناجي نفسه يتمنى ويقول:
ليكو الهنا والأمان يا كل المخلوقات،
وتسكن قلبك السعاده يا كل حي.
كل كل المخلوقات أياً كانت هي ايه:
اللي خايف والمئامن،
الكبير والوسطاني والصغير،
الرقيق والخشن.
اللي العين تشوفه واللي ماتشوفهوش،
اللي قريب واللي بعيد،
اللي اتولد واللي لسه هايتولد،
تسكن قلوبكو السعاده يا كل المخلوقات.
ولا حدش يقهر حد
ولا يحتقر حد مهما كان،
ولا عشان غِضِب او اتغاظ
يتمنى لحد الأذيه.
تمام زي الأم وعيلها الوحيد
لما تفديه بحياتها م الخطر،
زي تمام ما الواحد يفتح قلبه
من غير حدود لكل الخلق.
ولا يكونش للمحبه آخر
في قلب الواحد لكل الكون
عاليه وواطيه وداير-ن-مايدور
من غير ما تعاكسه خصومه ولا عداوه.
وطول ماهو صاحي، اذا كان واقف ولا ماشي
ولا قاعد ولا مِمَدِّد،
لازم يصمم يفضل فاكر كل ده،
يكون كائن سماوي زي ما بيقولو.
ولما يكون حر من العقائد،
ضميره حي، وبصيرته مش عايبه،
وزايح من نفسه شهوات الحِس،
يبقى اكيد مالوش نومه تانيه في الرحم.
{end of text}
Although obviously everyone goes for “let none deceive another” … I feel I need to discuss this first!! 
