Arabic, then if a man knows both Arabic and another language and wishes to engage in liʿān in a language other than Arabic, we say: it is invalid; rather, it must be conducted in Arabic, because it contains wording specified by the Quran, and so it must be done with that wording.
If someone were to ask: Why, when these are not formulas whose exact wording is prescribed as an act of worship? The answer is that this wording is established by the revealed text, and he is capable of using it, so he should not depart from it for another wording. Moreover, a translation may not convey the intended meaning in full. These are extremely serious formulations, for they entail averting one prescribed punishment and establishing another.
The second view is that it is valid in their respective language, even if they know Arabic. This is the definitive view, because the wording of liʿān is not devotional wording whose precise form must be preserved; rather, it is wording through which a person expresses what is within himself. Thus, whenever his language is understood, the liʿān is valid.
His statement, “And if he does not know it, then in his language,” means that if he does not know Arabic, then it is conducted in the language he knows. If he knows two languages other than Arabic, should we say that it must be in his own language, since that is the original one, or should we say that, since Arabic is unavailable, it is permissible in any language? The apparent view is the latter: a person who does not know Arabic is not required to use his own language.
“And if he does not know it, then in his language. Thus, if he accuses his wife of adultery, he may avert the prescribed punishment through liʿān. Before her, he says four times: ‘I bear witness by Allah that this wife of mine has indeed committed adultery,’” pointing to her; if she is absent, he names her and identifies her lineage, …
His statement, “And if he does not know it, then in his language,” is based on what is generally the case: a person ordinarily speaks only one language, either Arabic or another language. It is also because, if he does not know Arabic, he is unable to use it; thus, all other languages are equal in relation to him.
His statement, “Thus, if he accuses his wife of adultery”: this is the third condition—that the accusation explicitly allege adultery, such as his saying, “She committed adultery,” “You committed adultery,” or anything