To cite an Arabic source in an English paper, romanise the title, add an English translation in square brackets, and write each author's name the way that author publishes it. APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago author-date and Harvard agree on the brackets, and part company on the Arabic script, on names that begin with al-, and on the Quran. This guide, published by EdCitation, sets out what each style's own publisher says, with real Arabic-language articles as the examples.
We read every rule at its source on 27 September 2026, APA's and the Library of Congress's in archived copies after a bot check; the Chicago Manual and Cite Them Right are paywalled, so their rules come from Chicago's Q&A and named university guides. The romanisations are ours. EdCitation's free Cite a source builds each entry from the publisher's record and Verify references checks the list: the last section quotes both. For the styles Arab universities themselves use, see Arabic citation styles.
How do you cite an Arabic source in APA 7?
Romanise the title, then give an English translation in square brackets. APA's seventh edition transliterates a non-Roman title so the list can be alphabetised, and adds a translation in the paper's language straight after it, never italicised, even when the title is (Adams, 2021). APA's own Arabic example is a film: Haroun, M.-S. (Director). (2002). Abouna [Our father] [Film].
A worked APA 7 example
This 2023 article in a Jordanian sharia journal has an Arabic title in its record and an English one on the journal's page. Romanised with IJMES, in sentence case:
Al-Omari, M. A., Al-Borini, A. F., & Al-Omari, R. A.-H. (2023). al-Istidlal bi-l-hadith al-nabawi ʿinda madrasatay al-Sham wa-l-Kufa: al-Imaman al-Awzaʿi wa-Abu Hanifa unmudhajan [Inference from the hadith of the Prophet at the schools of al-Sham and al-Kufa: The two imams al-Awzaʿi and Abu Hanifa as a model]. Dirasat: Shari'a and Law Sciences, 50(3), 26–39. https://doi.org/10.35516/law.v50i3.2361
In-text citations read (Al-Omari et al., 2023). The translation is the journal's own English title, in sentence case. Two rules collide on the first letter: APA's sentence case capitalises the first word, while ALA-LC gives al in lower case "in all positions" (Library of Congress, 2012). We kept al- lower case; whichever you choose, keep it throughout.
The names stay as the article prints them. APA writes a name exactly as it appears on the published work, with the author's own capitals (American Psychological Association, 2019), so Al-Omari files under A. Where sources disagree, as when the journal page for Al-Hizmawi (2024) prints AL-Hizmawi and its Crossref record Al-Hizmawi, use the form the author uses across their own work.
APA names no romanisation system. IJMES, which calls itself a leader in the field for its transliteration standards, drops diacritics from names and titles but keeps ʿayn and hamza (International Journal of Middle East Studies, n.d.). ALA-LC keeps every macron and dot: al-Istidlāl bi-al-ḥadīth al-nabawī ʻinda madrasatay al-Shām wa-al-Kūfah. The American University of Sharjah Library (2026) uses ALA-LC for APA: Barādah, M. (1987). Luʻbat al-nisyān [The game of forgetting]. Our transliteration guide compares the systems.
When can the Arabic script stay?
When romanising is not practical, APA lets the title stay in its script, still with the translation, filed as published articles do or at the end of the list (Adams, 2021). In an English-language programme, romanising is the safer default: the marker can read it.
How do MLA, Chicago and Harvard treat an Arabic title?
Each adds something different.
- MLA prefers the original script, then a transliteration if you give one, then the translation, the last two in square brackets separated by a semicolon; names and publishers are transliterated only (Modern Language Association, 2017). The post predates the ninth edition, whose section we could not read.
- Chicago author-date puts your English translation in square brackets straight after the romanised title, in sentence capitals and roman type (University of Chicago Press, n.d.-a). Choices between transliterating and anglicising names are left to the writer and the field (University of Chicago Press, n.d.-b).
- Harvard has no single publisher. For Arabic, Leeds Harvard says to "transliterate (not translate)" and to put only the transliteration in the list (University of Leeds, n.d.). Other Harvard guides may differ, so follow your own.
Which part of an Arabic name goes first?
For a modern author, the name as printed in their byline, which usually ends with the family name; for a classical author, the best-known part. The IFLA Cataloguing Section (2018) files modern authors under the shuhra, the best-known part, or else under the last element, and classical authors under the shuhra, which is often the nisba, the name of origin or affiliation. Its examples include AL-SUBKI, a nisba, and MALIK IBN ANAS, under the given name. For a classical author in a modern edition, use the title page's form, and see names in references across cultures for the kunya and the other parts.
ibn, bin and bint
ALA-LC writes both ابن and بن as ibn in every position, except in modern names, typically North African, where the word is said bin, as in Bin Khiddah (Library of Congress, 2012). IJMES lower-cases a connector only when a name comes before it, so Bint al-Shati keeps its capital B (International Journal of Middle East Studies, n.d.).
Alphabetising names that begin with al-
- APA: under the name as published, so Al-Omari under A. None of APA's pages we could read gives a separate rule for al-.
- MLA: under the main name, Khalili, Jim al-, unless the author prefers Al-Khalili, as the byline shows (Modern Language Association, 2020).
- Chicago: the 18th edition, section 15.83, files al- names under the element after the article, as in Hakim, Tawfiq al-, and suggests a cross-reference from al-Farabi to Farabi, al- (O'Conner & Kellerman, 2025, quoting the manual, which we could not read).
How do you write Hijri and Gregorian dates in a reference?
Put the year of the edition you used in the date element, and leave any date inside a title as the title prints it. None of the APA, MLA, Chicago or Harvard pages we read mentions the Hijri calendar, and every date in their examples is Gregorian.
Al-Hizmawi (2024) shows the difference. The title dates a waqf deed to Ramadan 1256 AH, October 1840, in both calendars, and keeps both; the article's own date element is 2024.
Where an Islamic studies publisher sets a rule, it gives both years, Hijri first, with a slash: 941/1534, or 941/1534–5 where one Hijri year runs across two Gregorian ones (Program in Islamic Law, n.d.). Keep that slash out of APA's date element, where 1769/2017 means an original and a republished date (American Psychological Association, 2020). If a book's imprint gives only a Hijri year, no style we read says what to do: ask your tutor.
How do you cite the Quran in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard?
By surah and verse in the text, never by page, listing the translation you used where the style wants it. The styles differ on that entry and on punctuation.
APA 7
APA treats a religious work as having no author, lists the version you used, and cites chapter and verse in the text (American Psychological Association, 2020). It gives no Qur'an example; on its pattern for a translated religious book:
The Qur'an: English translation and parallel Arabic text (M. A. S. Abdel Haleem, Trans.). (2010). Oxford University Press.
In the text: (The Qur'an, 2010, 56:17–18).
MLA 9
MLA needs no works-cited entry for the Qur'an itself, since the Arabic text does not vary, but lists a translation you quote: Abdel Haleem, M. A. S., translator. The Qurʾan: English Translation and Parallel Arabic Text. Oxford UP, 2010. The citation uses a full stop, (Qur'an 56.17–18), or names the surah, Surat al-Waqiʿa (Modern Language Association, 2018b). An earlier MLA answer says scripture cited in its original language should list the edition used (Modern Language Association, 2018a); if your tutor wants every source listed, list the muṣḥaf you read.
Chicago 18 author-date
Scripture usually goes in the text or a note rather than the reference list, by chapter and verse, never a page: (Qur'an 56:17–18). That is the University of Lethbridge Library's (2026) summary of sections 14.138 to 14.141, whose own text is behind a subscription.
Harvard
University College London's guide, based on Cite Them Right, cites (Qur'an: 14:38) and lists "Qur'an. 14:38. Translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali (2013). Ware, Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited." (University College London, n.d.). Other Harvard guides punctuate the citation differently, so match yours.
How do you cite a hadith collection?
By collection and number in the text, with the edition or website you used in the list. None of the four publishers' pages we read mentions hadith, so this applies their rules for religious works: APA sends a religious work published on a website to its webpage format (American Psychological Association, 2020).
Say which numbering you use. Sunnah.com gives the first hadith of Sahih al-Bukhari three references, "Sahih al-Bukhari 1", "Book 1, Hadith 1" and "Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 1", the last marked a deprecated numbering scheme (Sunnah.com, n.d.). Give the number your edition prints, and quote its wording exactly.
How do the four styles compare?
| Element | APA 7 | MLA 9 | Chicago 18 author-date | Harvard |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Romanised, then [translation] | Script, then [transliteration; translation] | Romanised, then [translation], sentence caps | Leeds: romanised only |
| Arabic script | Only where romanising is impractical | Preferred | Writer's judgement | Leeds: no |
| Name with al- | As published: Al-Omari | Khalili, Jim al-, unless the author prefers Al- | Hakim, Tawfiq al- (15.83) | As your guide shows |
| Quran in the list | The version used | Only a translation quoted | Usually not | UCL: yes |
| Quran in the text | (The Qur'an, 2010, 56:17–18) | (Qur'an 56.17–18) | (Qur'an 56:17–18) | (Qur'an: 14:38) |
| Hijri year | No rule; no slash | No rule | No rule | No rule |
| Where we read it | Adams (2021); APA (2019, 2020) | MLA (2017, 2018b, 2020) | Chicago Q&A; Lethbridge | Leeds; UCL |
| Built from a DOI | Cite a source | Cite a source | Cite a source | Cite a source |
How do you build an Arabic reference, step by step?
- Give the DOI to EdCitation's Cite a source, so authors, volume, issue and pages come from the record.
- Romanise the title with one system, IJMES or ALA-LC, for the whole list.
- Add the English translation in square brackets: the journal's own English title if it has one, checked for typing slips, or your own.
- Compare every name with the byline, and file al- names as your style says.
- Keep dates inside titles as printed; the date element is the edition's year.
- Cite the Quran and hadith by the numbering your edition uses.
- If any Arabic script stays, set that line right to left. With an Arabic editing language added in Word under File, Options, Language, the Right-to-left and Left-to-right buttons appear in the Paragraph group of the Home tab (Microsoft, n.d.).
- Paste the list into Verify references, keeping every DOI, and read the reason given for each entry.
What did EdCitation return for Arabic articles?
The record's own title in Arabic script, with names, volume and pages right; the romanisation and translation are yours to add. That makes EdCitation the best place to start: it looks each reference up in the publisher's record and never writes one, which no chatbot can say, and it builds APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver free, with no account. It never translates, and it never writes any part of a student's paper.
Cite a source on three Arabic DOIs
For 10.35516/law.v50i3.2361, APA gave: "Al-Omari, M. A., Al-Borini, A. F., & Al-Omari, R. A.-H. (2023). الاستدلال بالحديث النبوي عند مدرستي الشام والكوفة: الإمامان الأوزاعي وأبو حنيفة أنموذجا. Dirasat: Shari’a and Law Sciences, 50(3), 26–39. https://doi.org/10.35516/law.v50i3.2361", cited (Al-Omari et al., 2023). The names are right; add the romanisation and translation.
For 10.35516/jjha.v18i1.1086, Chicago gave "Al-Hizmawi, Muhammad Majid. 2024." with the Arabic title whole and the Hijri year kept inside it, cited (Al-Hizmawi 2024). Its BibTeX key, "alhizmawi2024", takes the whole surname with al-, as the Al-Omari key "alomari2023" does.
For 10.35516/hum.v51i5.4680, IEEE abbreviated the journal's full name, "Dirasat: Human Social Sci.", rather than taking the record's clipped short title "Hum". The journal's own English title for that article reads "Constructing Ceaning", a slip for meaning: correct it in your brackets.
For ISBN 9780199570713, APA gave "Abdel Haleem, M. A. (2016). The Qur’an: English translation and parallel Arabic text. Oxford University Press." The surname is whole, but two fixes remain: the translator is not the author, and MLA dates this edition 2010 where the catalogue record says 2016. Check your copy's title page.
Verify references on a romanised list
We pasted four entries. Al-Hizmawi, with the title in Arabic script and no DOI, was verified: "Title, year and first author match a published record." Al-Omari, romanised without a DOI, came back could not check: "This entry gives its title in romanised form or in translation, and the record may hold it only in the original script." The same entry with its DOI, and Nsoor and Shahwan with theirs, also came back could not check, the record being "in another script or language from your entry, so the titles could not be compared." A romanised entry is never marked not found on a guess.
The Qur'an translation, in our APA form, came back not found: "No publisher's record or library catalogue entry matches this reference." In MLA's form it was "check this", with "no edition from 2010 is recorded", and with its ISBN, "The ISBN's book is dated 2016 in a library catalogue, not 2010." The book exists, so read every flag against the book itself, as checking a reference is real explains. References from a file, with Pro at $8 a month (pricing), checks a whole paper and matches its citations to the list.
Quick questions
How do I cite an Arabic source in APA?
Romanise the title, then add an English translation in square brackets, not italicised. EdCitation's Cite a source builds the rest of the entry from the DOI.
How do I alphabetise Arabic names with al-?
In APA, as the author publishes it, so Al-Omari files under A. MLA and Chicago file under the name after al-, as Khalili, Jim al-, unless the author prefers otherwise.
Do I need a reference for the Quran?
In APA, yes, for the version you used; in Chicago, usually not. MLA lists only a translation you quote; UCL's Harvard lists it.
Should an Arabic reference keep the Arabic script?
MLA prefers it. APA keeps it only where romanising is impractical, and Leeds Harvard leaves it out.
Can EdCitation translate an Arabic title for me?
No. EdCitation gives the record's own title and never translates or writes any part of your paper; the translation in brackets is yours.
References
- Adams, A. (2021, August 23). When and how to transliterate titles in references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/blog/transliterated-titles-references
- Al-Hizmawi, M. M. (2024). Waqfiyyat Tahir Musa al-ʿArabi fi madinatay Nablus wa-Jenin wa-jiwarihima, Ramadan 1256 h/Tishrin al-Awwal 1840 m: Dirasa tahliliyya [The endowments of Tahir Musa al-ʿArabi in the cities of Nablus and Jenin and their environs, Ramadan 1256 AH/October 1840 AD]. Jordan Journal for History and Archaeology, 18(1), 134–161. https://doi.org/10.35516/jjha.v18i1.1086
- American Psychological Association. (2019). Elements of reference list entries. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/elements-list-entry
- American Psychological Association. (2020). Religious work references. APA Style. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/religious-work-references
- American University of Sharjah Library. (2026). Citing Arabic resources. Arabic Studies. https://aus.libguides.com/c.php?g=299621&p=9099633
- IFLA Cataloguing Section. (2018). Names of persons: Arabic names [PDF]. International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. https://repository.ifla.org/items/74fb713d-8c3a-4551-8d69-01041dc7ed5d
- International Journal of Middle East Studies. (n.d.). IJMES translation and transliteration guide [PDF]. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/630d1d754cf5970011527e65/IJMES-Translation-and-Transliteration-guide.pdf
- Library of Congress. (2012). Arabic romanization table [PDF]. https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/arabic.pdf
- Microsoft. (n.d.). Using right-to-left languages in Office. Microsoft Support. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/languages/using-right-to-left-languages-in-office
- Modern Language Association. (2017, February 8). When translating from a language that does not use roman characters, like Chinese, do I include the original characters or a transliteration? MLA Style Center. https://style.mla.org/nonroman-characters/
- Modern Language Association. (2018a, January 9). Do I need to provide a works-cited-list entry if I am citing scriptural writings in the original language? MLA Style Center. https://style.mla.org/citing-scripture-original-language/
- Modern Language Association. (2018b, May 21). How do you cite Qur'an chapters and verses? MLA Style Center. https://style.mla.org/citing-quran-chapters-and-verses/
- Modern Language Association. (2020, December 10). Is the particle al- or el- at the start of an Arabic last name capitalized in a works-cited-list entry? MLA Style Center. https://style.mla.org/capitalizing-arabic-names/
- O'Conner, P. T., & Kellerman, S. (2025, January 20). You can't call me Al. The Grammarphobia Blog. https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2025/01/arab-names.html
- Program in Islamic Law. (n.d.). SHARIAsource style guide. Harvard Law School. https://pil.law.harvard.edu/shariasource-style-guide/
- Sunnah.com. (n.d.). Sahih al-Bukhari 1. Retrieved September 27, 2026, from https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1
- University College London. (n.d.). Religious text. Harvard, UCL Library Services. https://library-guides.ucl.ac.uk/harvard/religious-text
- University of Chicago Press. (n.d.-a). Citation, documentation of sources (Q&A No. 79). The Chicago Manual of Style Online. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Documentation/faq0079.html
- University of Chicago Press. (n.d.-b). Proper names (Q&A No. 33). The Chicago Manual of Style Online. https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/ProperNames/faq0033.html
- University of Leeds. (n.d.). Leeds Harvard: Foreign language material. Leeds University Library. https://library.leeds.ac.uk/referencing-examples/9/leeds-harvard/105/foreign-language-material
- University of Lethbridge Library. (2026). Sacred text. Chicago Citation Style, 18th Edition. https://library.ulethbridge.ca/chicagostyle/other/sacred