Core Glossary
Core Glossary: Acts (English–Urdu)
This glossary supplements the baseline Romans/Galatians translation_memory.json. It does not repeat full entries for terms already recorded there; Part A lists baseline terms reused in Acts with a citation of their Acts occurrences and any Acts-specific contextual note. Part B provides full new-term entries for vocabulary introduced by Acts, using the same field structure as the baseline (translation, transliteration, doctrine_risk, doctrine, alternatives_rejected, notes), ready for merge into translation_memory.json as version increments.
Part A — Baseline Terms Reused in Acts (No Change to Rendering)
| Term | Urdu (baseline) | Risk (baseline) | Key Acts Occurrences | Acts-Specific Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| god | خدا | Critical | throughout | Never اللہ; consistent with baseline Khuda-tradition |
| jesus | یسوع (یسوع مسیح) | Critical | throughout | Never bare عیسیٰ |
| holy_spirit | روح القدس | Critical | 1:5,8; 2:4,17-18,33,38; 4:8,31; 5:3,32; 6:3,5; 7:55; 8:15-19; 9:17,31; 10:44-47; 11:15-16,24; 13:2,9,52; 15:8,28; 19:2-6; 20:23,28 | Pentecost (ch. 2) is the doctrinal anchor for this term’s full development across the entire book |
| lord | خداوند | Critical | 2:21,34,36; 10:36; 16:31; throughout | 2:21,36 combine with نجات/مسیح — highest-density Critical convergence in the book |
| son_of_god | خدا کا بیٹا | Critical | 9:20; 13:33 | Mandatory eternal-not-begotten annotation applies at each occurrence |
| messiah | مسیح | Critical | 2:31,36,38; 3:18,20; 5:42; 8:5,12; 9:22; 17:3; 18:5,28 | Extremely high-frequency in Acts; every occurrence should carry (or reference) the baseline’s “content beyond Quranic Isa al-Masih” note |
| resurrection | قیامت | Critical | 1:22; 2:24,31-32; 4:2,33; 17:18,31-32; 23:6,8; 24:15,21; 26:23 | Ch. 23’s Pharisee/Sadducee general-resurrection debate must be distinguished from Christ’s specific resurrection per baseline note |
| salvation | نجات | Critical | 2:21,40,47; 4:12; 11:14; 13:26,47; 15:1,11; 16:17,30-31; 27:20,31,34; 28:28 | Acts 2 and 16:30-31 are prime teaching texts for the shared-word contrastive-teaching requirement |
| grace | فضل | High | 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32 | 2:47’s non-soteriological χάρις (“favor”) must be distinguished — see new entry Part B |
| faith | ایمان | High | throughout, esp. 3:16; 6:5,7; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 16:5; 20:21; 26:18 | Object-of-faith-explicit rule applies at every occurrence |
| righteousness | راستبازی | Critical | 13:10 (negative, “enemy of righteousness”); 17:31; 24:25 | 3:14, 22:14 use the derived title “the Righteous One” (see Part B) |
| justification | راستباز ٹھہرایا جانا | Critical | 13:39 | Direct narrative bridge to the Romans/Galatians doctrine |
| apostle | رسول | Medium | throughout, esp. ch. 1-15 | Reinforces baseline caution re: Quranic scripture-bearing-messenger paradigm |
| called/calling | بلایا گیا / بلاہٹ | High | 2:39; 9:15; 13:2; 16:10 | 2:39’s “as many as the Lord our God calls” is the book’s clearest effectual-calling statement |
| holy | پاک | High | throughout (پاک روح القدس; مقدس مقام etc.) | No new risk beyond baseline |
| saints | مقدس لوگ | High | 9:13,32,41; 26:10 | No new risk |
| sanctification | تقدیس | High | 20:32; 26:18 | No new risk |
| covenant | عہد | High | 3:25; 7:8 | Stephen’s speech (ch. 7) is dense with covenant-history material |
| promise | وعدہ | High | 1:4; 2:33,39; 7:17; 13:23,32; 26:6 | 2:38-39 is the anchor occurrence |
| law | شریعت (توریت where Mosaic-specific) | High | 6:13; 7:53; 13:15,39; 15:5; 18:13,15; 21:20,24,28; 22:3,12; 23:29; 24:14; 25:8; 28:23 | Extremely frequent in the second half of Acts (Jewish-Roman legal disputes); prefer توریت where narrowly Mosaic |
| sin | گناہ | High | 2:38; 3:19; 5:4 (implicit); 7:60; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18 | No new risk |
| gentiles | غیر قوموں | Medium | 9:15; 10:45; 11:1,18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:3,7,12,14,19,23; 18:6; 21:11,19,21,25; 22:21; 26:17,20,23; 28:28 | Never کافر; extremely high-frequency given Acts’ central Jew-Gentile theme |
| glory | جلال | High | 7:2,55; 12:23 | No new risk |
| power_of_god | خدا کی قدرت | High | 1:8; 4:33; 6:8 | Combines with σημεῖα/τέρατα — see Part B |
| covenant/david/israel | داؤد / اسرائیل | Medium/Low | 1:6; 2:25-34; 4:10,25-27; 13:22-23,34-36; 15:16 | No new risk |
| church | کلیسیا | Medium | 2:47(v.l.); 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 13:1; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 16:5; 18:22; 19:32,39-41; 20:17,28 | Never مسجد/امت |
| kingdom_of_god | خدا کی بادشاہی | Medium | 1:3,6; 8:12; 14:22; 19:8; 20:25; 28:23,31 | Opens (1:3) and closes (28:31) the book — narrative bracket |
| mission | بشارت کی خدمت | Medium | throughout ch. 13-28 | Never دعوت/تبلیغ |
| prophet/prophecy | نبی / پیشن گوئی | Low | throughout | No new risk |
| circumcision | ختنہ | Critical | 15:1,5; 16:3; 21:21 | Full Galatians-extension risk applies; ch. 15 is the narrative account of the same controversy |
| works_of_the_law | شریعت کے اعمال | Critical | 15:1,5 (implicit); 13:39 | Same anchoring rule (Mosaic-specific, never bare اعمال) applies |
| freedom | آزادی | Critical | 24:23 (loose custody, non-doctrinal sense); doctrinal sense less prominent than in Galatians | Low doctrinal density in Acts itself; retain full Critical caution wherever it recurs in teaching material |
| cross_crucifixion | صلیب / مصلوب | Critical | 2:23,36; 4:10; 5:30 | 2:23,36 are the highest-priority escalation items in the entire Acts curriculum |
| revelation | مکاشفہ | Medium | implicit in vision narratives (see ὅραμα, Part B) | — |
| exhort | نصیحت کرنا | Low | 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2 | — |
Part B — New Terms Introduced in Acts
{
"pentecost": {
"translation": "پنتِکُست کا تہوار",
"transliteration": "pantikust kā tehwār",
"original": "πεντηκοστή",
"greek_transliteration": "pentēkostē",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Holy Spirit and Pentecost",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:1", "20:16", "1 Cor 16:8 (cross-ref)"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["عید پنتِکُست"],
"notes": "The Jewish Feast of Weeks (Shavuot). عید is avoided as the generic descriptor because it triggers immediate association with the two major Islamic festivals (Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha); تہوار (a religiously neutral word for festival) is preferred alongside the transliterated proper name."
},
"tongues_glossolalia": {
"translation": "دیگر زبانیں",
"transliteration": "digar zabānẽ",
"original": "ἑτέραις γλώσσαις",
"greek_transliteration": "heterais glōssais",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Holy Spirit and Pentecost",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:4,6,8,11", "10:46", "19:6"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Acts consistently presents this as real, intelligible known human languages (confirmed by hearers recognizing their own tongues), not private ecstatic utterance. Must be distinguished at first occurrence from generic ecstatic-speech phenomena in regional devotional traditions."
},
"repentance": {
"translation": "توبہ",
"transliteration": "tawbah",
"original": "μετάνοια / μετανοέω",
"greek_transliteration": "metanoia / metanoeō",
"doctrine_risk": "Critical",
"doctrine": "Repentance and Baptism",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:38", "3:19", "5:31", "8:22", "11:18", "13:24", "17:30", "19:4", "20:21", "26:20"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "CRITICAL, same category as نجات in the baseline: established Urdu Christian Bible term, simultaneously the central Islamic theological term (tawbah) for sincere turning from sin within the mercy-weighed-against-deeds framework of divine judgment. Not a wrong word calling for substitution -- the established rendering is correct and must be kept -- but every doctrinally load-bearing occurrence (especially 2:38, 17:30) requires explicit contrastive teaching that biblical repentance here is immediately joined to baptism in Jesus's name and reception of the Spirit's gift, not a standalone act awaiting a separate future mizan-style reckoning."
},
"baptism": {
"translation": "بپتسمہ",
"transliteration": "baptasmā",
"original": "βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω",
"greek_transliteration": "baptisma / baptizō",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Repentance and Baptism",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 1:5", "2:38,41", "8:12-13,36-38", "9:18", "10:47-48", "16:15,33", "18:25", "19:3-5", "22:16"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["غسل"],
"notes": "Established Urdu Christian term, transliterated from Greek via Syriac/Greek Christian tradition, kept distinct from غسل (Islamic ritual bath, ghusl) and وضو (wudu, ablution before prayer), which are repeatable ritual-purity acts. Christian baptism here is a one-time act identifying the believer with Christ's death and resurrection, tied to forgiveness and the Spirit's gift, not a repeatable purification rite. Ch. 18-19 develop an important internal distinction between John's preparatory baptism and full baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus with the Spirit; this distinction must be preserved, not flattened."
},
"gift_of_the_holy_spirit": {
"translation": "روح القدس کی بخشش",
"transliteration": "rūḥ al-qudus kī bakhshish",
"original": "ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος",
"greek_transliteration": "hē dōrea tou hagiou pneumatos",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "The Holy Spirit and Pentecost",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:38", "8:20", "10:45", "11:17"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["روحانی نعمتیں (rejected as the primary rendering here)"],
"notes": "δωρεά (free gift/bestowal) is a distinct Greek root from χάρισμα (already rendered روحانی نعمتیں in the baseline for ongoing ministry-empowerments). This term names the foundational, once-for-all Spirit-endowment given at conversion (2:38), distinct from the ongoing, variously-distributed ministry gifts of the baseline's spiritual_gifts entry. Keep the two categories distinguishable in teaching material. 8:20 (Simon Magus attempting to buy this gift) is a key teaching text that it cannot be purchased or merited."
},
"call_on_the_name_of_the_lord": {
"translation": "خداوند کے نام کا پکارنا",
"transliteration": "k͟hudāvand ke nām kā pukārnā",
"original": "ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου",
"greek_transliteration": "epikalesētai to onoma kyriou",
"doctrine_risk": "Critical",
"doctrine": "Repentance and Baptism / Lordship of Christ",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:21", "9:14,21", "22:16"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Combines two baseline Critical terms (خداوند, نجات) in a single universal-access salvation formula; this is the Acts source-text for the same formula Paul cites in Romans 10:9-13 and must render identically across the whole curriculum per the baseline's cross-document consistency rule."
},
"witness": {
"translation": "گواہ",
"transliteration": "gawāh",
"original": "μάρτυς / μάρτυρες",
"greek_transliteration": "martys / martyres",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 1:8,22", "2:32", "3:15", "5:32", "10:39,41", "13:31", "22:15,20", "26:16"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "The book's central self-designation for the apostles as authorized eyewitness-testifiers to the resurrection. Keep distinct from the developing 'martyr' sense (see next entry); at most occurrences this means simply 'testifier,' not one who dies for the testimony."
},
"martyr": {
"translation": "شہید",
"transliteration": "shahīd",
"original": "μάρτυς (developing sense, applied to Stephen)",
"greek_transliteration": "martys",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 7:54-60", "22:20 (of Stephen)"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Shared-term risk, same category as گناہ/ایمان/نجات: established Urdu Christian vocabulary (used throughout Christian hymnody and martyrology), NOT a forbidden substitution, but simultaneously the central Islamic term for one who dies defending the faith, frequently associated with jihad, armed struggle, and (in popular usage) automatic paradise-entry. Every occurrence in teaching material must make explicit that Christian martyrdom as modeled by Stephen is suffered, non-violent, and forgiving (7:60, echoing Christ's own words on the cross) -- the opposite posture from the jihad-martyrdom paradigm the shared word might otherwise evoke."
},
"blasphemy": {
"translation": "کفر / گستاخی",
"transliteration": "kufr / gustākhī",
"original": "βλασφημία",
"greek_transliteration": "blasphēmia",
"doctrine_risk": "Critical",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 6:11,13", "26:11"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "CRITICAL AND DISTINCT IN KIND FROM EVERY OTHER RISK IN THIS PACKAGE: this term does not primarily collide with historical Qur'anic doctrine but with CONTEMPORARY, LIVE Pakistani and Indian criminal law (e.g. Pakistan Penal Code Section 295-C and related statutes), which attaches severe real-world legal and social consequences -- including documented histories of mob violence -- to accusations of گستاخی against Islam or its Prophet. Teaching material built on Stephen's trial (ch. 6-7) must include an explicit contextual-safety note distinguishing the first-century Jewish legal-religious charge described in the text from the present-day legal exposure the same vocabulary carries for a contemporary Urdu-speaking reader. Recommend combined theologian and native-speaker legal-context review, not either alone."
},
"the_way": {
"translation": "یہ راہ",
"transliteration": "yih rāh",
"original": "ἡ ὁδός",
"greek_transliteration": "hē hodos",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community / Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 9:2", "19:9,23", "22:4", "24:14,22"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "The earliest self-designation for the Christian movement. Notable bridge-and-collision term: closely parallels the Qur'an's central devotional metaphor of 'the straight path' (al-sirat al-mustaqim, invoked in every recitation of Surah al-Fatiha) and the etymological sense of shari'ah ('the way'). Usable pastorally as a genuine point of contact, but must be explicit that this Way means specifically following the crucified and risen Jesus as Lord, not a generic, interchangeable path-metaphor."
},
"clean_unclean": {
"translation": "پاک / ناپاک",
"transliteration": "pāk / nā-pāk",
"original": "καθαρός / κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος",
"greek_transliteration": "katharos / koinos / akathartos",
"doctrine_risk": "Critical",
"doctrine": "The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 10:14-15,28", "11:8-9", "15:9,20,29"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["حلال / حرام"],
"notes": "CRITICAL, structural parity with the Galatians extension's ختنہ (circumcision) escalation: Peter's vision abolishes OT dietary-purity categories, a claim that stands in close structural (though not identical) relation to the currently, widely practiced Islamic حلال/حرام dietary-law system. پاک/ناپاک is preferred over the live legal terms حلال/حرام specifically to avoid the text being read as a direct verdict on contemporary Islamic dietary law; the doctrinal point (God himself abolished former ritual-food restrictions under the new covenant, opening table-fellowship to Gentiles) must be taught explicitly and narrowly on its own terms. Mandatory human theologian review every occurrence, parity with the circumcision escalation rule."
},
"god_shows_no_partiality": {
"translation": "خدا کسی کا طرفدار نہیں",
"transliteration": "k͟hudā kisī kā ṭarafdār nahī̃",
"original": "οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός",
"greek_transliteration": "ouk estin prosōpolēptēs ho theos",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 10:34"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Central impartiality statement underlying Gentile inclusion. Genuine point of resonance with the Qur'an's own repeated affirmations of Allah's impartial justice; teach the resonance honestly while making clear this specific application (Gentiles fully included in salvation through faith in Christ, on equal terms with Jews) goes beyond a generic impartiality claim."
},
"christian_name": {
"translation": "مسیحی",
"transliteration": "masīḥī",
"original": "Χριστιανός",
"greek_transliteration": "Christianos",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 11:26", "26:28"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["عیسائی (acceptable colloquially but not preferred for formal doctrinal material)"],
"notes": "Established, standard formal Urdu Christian self-designation."
},
"signs_and_wonders": {
"translation": "نشان اور عجائبات",
"transliteration": "nishān aur ʿajā'ibāt",
"original": "σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα",
"greek_transliteration": "sēmeia kai terata",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Apostolic Authority and Miracles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:19,22,43", "4:30", "5:12", "6:8", "8:6,13", "14:3", "15:12"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "معجزہ (miracle, singular form) is the standard Islamic technical term for a prophet's authenticating miracle, used specifically of Muhammad's and earlier prophets' signs as proof of prophetic office. Apostolic signs and wonders in Acts must be taught as authenticating Jesus's unique divine identity, lordship, and resurrection specifically -- not as simply adding the apostles to a shared general category of miracle-working messengers alongside other prophetic figures."
},
"boldness": {
"translation": "دلیری",
"transliteration": "dilerī",
"original": "παρρησία",
"greek_transliteration": "parrēsia",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 4:13,29,31", "9:27-28", "13:46", "14:3", "18:26", "19:8", "26:26", "28:31"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Central term for the whole Persecution and Bold Witness doctrine. Must be taught as confident, unashamed proclamation flowing from conviction, per the baseline's pastoral-safety framework (see Galatians apostasy_and_persecution_risk entry) -- never as encouragement toward public confrontation, defiance, or unnecessary disclosure that increases a real-world reader's risk."
},
"conversion_of_paul": {
"translation": "رجوع",
"transliteration": "rujūʿ",
"original": "ἐπιστρέφω / ἐπιστροφή (of Paul's turning, narrated 3x)",
"greek_transliteration": "epistrephō / epistrophē",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Conversion of Paul",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 9:1-19", "22:3-16", "26:9-18"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Sovereign divine intervention and calling, not a human achievement. Distinguish from the Islamic concept of 'reversion' (some Muslims describe conversion to Islam as a 'return' to natural, innate faith, fitrah, since Islamic theology holds all humans are born Muslim); Paul's conversion in Acts is a sovereign, Christ-initiated interruption and re-commissioning of a zealous, sincerely practicing religious man, not a return to an original nature -- this distinction should be taught explicitly when engaging Paul's testimony comparatively."
},
"gods_impartiality_and_election_of_paul": {
"translation": "چنا ہوا برتن",
"transliteration": "chunā huā bartan",
"original": "σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς",
"greek_transliteration": "skeuos eklogēs",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "Conversion of Paul",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 9:15"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Ties directly to the baseline election entry (خدا کا انتخاب); reuse that term's High risk caution regarding تقدیر."
},
"council_decree": {
"translation": "فیصلہ",
"transliteration": "faisla",
"original": "ἔδοξεν / ἐπιστολή (the Jerusalem council's decision and letter)",
"greek_transliteration": "edoxen / epistolē",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Justification apart from the Law",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 15:19-29"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["فتویٰ"],
"notes": "FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never render as فتویٰ (fatwa), the specific Islamic juridical-ruling term issued by a qualified religious authority (mufti). The council's collegial, Spirit-and-elders discernment model (15:28, 'it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us') does not match Islamic fatwa-issuing authority structures and must not be presented as a parallel."
},
"spirit_of_divination": {
"translation": "غیب گوئی کی روح",
"transliteration": "g͟haib go'ī kī rūḥ",
"original": "πνεῦμα πύθωνος",
"greek_transliteration": "pneuma pythōnos",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Apostolic Authority and Miracles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 16:16-18"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "An unclean/occult spirit, categorically distinct from روح القدس; never share vocabulary or risk conflation with the Holy Spirit entry. Recommend always qualifying with بد روح (evil/unclean spirit) rather than bare روح."
},
"unknown_god": {
"translation": "نامعلوم خدا",
"transliteration": "nāmaʿlūm k͟hudā",
"original": "ἄγνωστος θεός",
"greek_transliteration": "agnōstos theos",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles / The Great Commission Fulfilled",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 17:23"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Paul's rhetorical bridge from pagan religious groping to the specific, exclusive proclamation of the true God revealed in the risen Christ (17:31). Must not be taught or heard as implying religious pluralism (that all religions, including Islam, already worship this same unknown God under a different name); Paul's argument moves toward exclusive identification and a call to repent, not toward an affirmation of equivalence."
},
"tribulation_persecution": {
"translation": "مصیبت",
"transliteration": "musībat",
"original": "θλῖψις",
"greek_transliteration": "thlipsis",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 14:22", "20:23"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Frames suffering as the normal, expected path of discipleship, not an anomaly; pastoral-realism term for readers facing real social cost for faith."
},
"hope": {
"translation": "امید",
"transliteration": "ummīd",
"original": "ἐλπίς",
"greek_transliteration": "elpis",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "Great Commission Fulfilled / Resurrection",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 23:6", "24:15", "26:6-7", "28:20"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Must be tied specifically to the hope of Christ's resurrection and the believer's own future resurrection, not left as generic optimism. Genuine, positive point of comparison with the Islamic concept of hope in Allah's mercy (rajā'), while the specific ground (resurrection secured through Christ) remains distinctively Christian."
},
"servant_title_pais": {
"translation": "خدا کا خادم",
"transliteration": "k͟hudā kā k͟hādim",
"original": "παῖς",
"greek_transliteration": "pais",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Apostolic Authority and Miracles / Deity of Christ",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 3:13,26", "4:27,30"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Christological title echoing Isaiah's Suffering Servant. Distinguish explicitly from the honorific ''Abduhu' (His servant) applied to Muhammad in Islamic devotional formula; identifies Jesus uniquely with Isaiah's Servant, fulfilled in him alone, not a generic prophet-servant category."
},
"holy_and_righteous_one": {
"translation": "پاک اور راستباز",
"transliteration": "pāk aur rāstbāz",
"original": "ὁ ἅγιος καὶ δίκαιος",
"greek_transliteration": "ho hagios kai dikaios",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Deity of Christ",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 3:14", "22:14 (ὁ δίκαιος alone)"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Christological title combining baseline holy (پاک, High) and righteousness (راستباز, Critical); inherits both risks."
},
"author_of_life": {
"translation": "زندگی کا بانی",
"transliteration": "zindagī kā bānī",
"original": "ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς",
"greek_transliteration": "archēgos tēs zōēs",
"doctrine_risk": "High",
"doctrine": "Deity of Christ / Resurrection of Christ",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 3:15"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Follows immediately after 'you killed' language (3:15); same crucifixion-denial collision flagged at 2:23,36 recurs here."
},
"savior_title": {
"translation": "نجات دہندہ",
"transliteration": "najāt-dihanda",
"original": "σωτήρ",
"greek_transliteration": "sōtēr",
"doctrine_risk": "Critical",
"doctrine": "Salvation",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 5:31", "13:23"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Directly derivative of the baseline's نجات (Critical); this is a personal title (a name for Jesus), not just the abstract noun, and should receive the same theologian-review rigor."
},
"one_heart_and_soul": {
"translation": "ایک دل اور جان",
"transliteration": "ek dil aur jān",
"original": "μία καρδία καὶ ψυχή",
"greek_transliteration": "mia kardia kai psychē",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 4:32", "2:44-46"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Community-unity term; low risk, descriptive of early church solidarity."
},
"breaking_of_bread": {
"translation": "روٹی توڑنا",
"transliteration": "roṭī toṛnā",
"original": "ἡ κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου",
"greek_transliteration": "hē klasis tou artou",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:42,46", "20:7,11", "27:35"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "At this early narrative stage likely denotes shared communal meals with a Christ-centered remembrance dimension, developing toward but not yet fully formalized as the later Eucharistic rite; avoid over-defining doctrinally beyond what the text itself establishes."
},
"having_all_things_in_common": {
"translation": "سب کچھ مل کر بانٹنا",
"transliteration": "sab kuchh mil kar bāṇṭnā",
"original": "ἅπαντα κοινά / πάντα κοινά",
"greek_transliteration": "hapanta koina",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:44-45", "4:32,34-35"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Voluntary, love-motivated sharing among believers, not enforced communal property or a substitute for zakat/sadaqah; respectful point of comparison without conflating obligations or mechanisms."
},
"general_favor_nonsoteriological": {
"translation": "لوگوں کی نظر میں پسندیدگی",
"transliteration": "logõ kī naẕar mē̃ pasandīdagī",
"original": "χάρις (general sense, distinct from soteriological grace)",
"greek_transliteration": "charis",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:47"],
"alternatives_rejected": ["فضل (rejected for this specific non-soteriological sense to avoid learner confusion with the baseline Critical term)"],
"notes": "Disambiguation entry: χάρις here means general social favor/goodwill, not the soteriological فضل (grace) of the baseline. Keep the two senses visibly distinct in teaching material for learners moving between this passage and Romans."
},
"elders_overseers": {
"translation": "بزرگ / نگہران",
"transliteration": "buzurg / nigahrān",
"original": "πρεσβύτεροι / ἐπίσκοπος",
"greek_transliteration": "presbyteroi / episkopos",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community / Apostolic Authority and Miracles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 14:23", "15:2,4,6,22-23", "20:17,28", "21:18"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "بزرگ carries deep cultural respect in South Asian usage generally and is also associated in some Muslim popular devotional contexts with Sufi elder/pir figures who may receive quasi-veneration; church elders here are a functional teaching-and-shepherding office among equals, not a devotional-veneration category, echoing the baseline's caution against ولی for 'saints.'"
},
"vision_dream": {
"translation": "رویا / خواب",
"transliteration": "royā / k͟hwāb",
"original": "ὅραμα / ὄναρ / ἐνύπνιον",
"greek_transliteration": "horama / onar / enypnion",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Holy Spirit and Pentecost / Apostolic Authority and Miracles",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 2:17", "9:10,12", "10:3,17,19", "16:9-10", "18:9", "26:19"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Genuinely shared vocabulary with Islamic dream-vision tradition (ru'ya, istikhara); useful bridge point, but note this curriculum presents these visions as carrying unique, Spirit-given authoritative direction within the unrepeated apostolic-founding narrative, not a general ongoing personal-guidance technique to be replicated devotionally without discernment."
},
"vow_nazirite": {
"translation": "نذر",
"transliteration": "naẕr",
"original": "εὐχή",
"greek_transliteration": "euchē",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "The Church as Community",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 21:23-26", "18:18"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Genuine positive bridge term: نذر (nadhr) is a recognized, currently practiced Islamic devotional-vow concept. Clarify Paul's participation is culturally sensitive accommodation to Jewish custom, not a doctrinal requirement of the gospel (cf. the Jerusalem Council's resolution, ch. 15)."
},
"roman_citizenship": {
"translation": "رومی شہریت",
"transliteration": "rūmī shahriyat",
"original": "πολίτης Ῥωμαῖος / Ῥωμαῖος",
"greek_transliteration": "politēs Rhōmaios / Rhōmaios",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 16:37-38", "22:25-29", "23:27"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Civil-legal status term with no significant doctrinal risk; historical-descriptive."
},
"appeal_to_caesar": {
"translation": "قیصر سے اپیل کرنا",
"transliteration": "qaiṣar se apīl karnā",
"original": "ἐπικαλοῦμαι Καίσαρα",
"greek_transliteration": "epikaloumai Kaisara",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "Persecution and Bold Witness",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 25:11-12,21", "26:32", "28:19"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Civil-legal procedural term; no significant doctrinal risk."
},
"satan": {
"translation": "شیطان",
"transliteration": "shaiṯān",
"original": "Σατανᾶς",
"greek_transliteration": "Satanas",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "Conversion of Paul",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 26:18"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Genuinely shared vocabulary with the Islamic Shaitan/Iblis concept; broadly safe common ground. Minor note: Islamic tradition sometimes distinguishes Iblis (proper name) from shaytan (broader category of tempting jinn) -- need not be resolved in this curriculum but worth brief translator awareness."
},
"unhindered": {
"translation": "بلا روک ٹوک",
"transliteration": "bilā rok ṭok",
"original": "ἀκωλύτως",
"greek_transliteration": "akōlytōs",
"doctrine_risk": "Low",
"doctrine": "The Great Commission Fulfilled",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 28:31"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "The book's deliberate final word; connects narratively back to Acts 1:8's commission, forming the closing bracket for the Great Commission Fulfilled doctrine. Preserve the open, hopeful, non-triumphalist tone."
},
"ends_of_the_earth": {
"translation": "زمین کی انتہا تک",
"transliteration": "zamīn kī intihā tak",
"original": "ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς",
"greek_transliteration": "heōs eschatou tēs gēs",
"doctrine_risk": "Medium",
"doctrine": "The Great Commission Fulfilled",
"primary_passages": ["Acts 1:8", "13:47"],
"alternatives_rejected": [],
"notes": "Anchor phrase opening the book's mission theme (1:8), echoed at 13:47 and fulfilled narratively by 28:31 (gospel reaching Rome). Render consistently across all recurrences."
}
}
Cross-Reference Note
Terms in Part B marked Critical or High require the same review-routing tier as their category peers in the baseline doctrine_risk_registry.json (human theologian review for Critical/High, native speaker review for Medium, automated review for Low). It is recommended that a corresponding doctrine_risk_registry.json entry set be generated for Acts (Phase 1 Step 2 deliverable) mirroring the structure already established for Romans/Galatians, incorporating the doctrines named in the curriculum parameters: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost, The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles, Repentance and Baptism, The Church as Community, Apostolic Authority and Miracles, Persecution and Bold Witness, Conversion of Paul, Justification apart from the Law, and The Great Commission Fulfilled.
Critical Risk Terms
God
Approved rendering: خدا
Transliteration: k͟hudā
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Rejected alternatives: اللہ
Original: θεός
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. CRITICAL: this glossary follows the established Urdu Christian Bible tradition of using خدا rather than اللہ, keeping this curriculum’s Trinitarian and Christological claims from being heard as claims about the Qur’anic Allah with a different label. Acts context: Peter’s and Paul’s sermons (2:22-36; 17:22-31; 14:15) proclaim the God of Israel now fully revealed in the risen Christ; never render as اللہ throughout Acts.
Jesus
Approved rendering: یسوع
Transliteration: yasū’
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: عیسیٰ
Original: Ἰησοῦς
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Rendered یسوع مسیح consistently, never bare عیسیٰ. Acts context: appears throughout (2:38; 3:6; 4:10; 16:31 etc.); Acts asserts crucifixion, resurrection, lordship, and sonship claims for this Jesus far beyond what Qur’anic Isa-theology affirms, making the name-distinction especially load-bearing across this book.
Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روح القدس
Transliteration: rūḥ al-qudus
Doctrine: Sanctification
Original: πνεῦμα ἅγιον
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. روح القدس IS a Qur’anic phrase (2:87, 2:253, 16:102), identified in mainstream tafsir with the angel Jibreel; must never appear without the mandatory personhood-and-deity annotation. Acts context: this is the doctrinal anchor term of the whole book (Pentecost, 2:1-41), intensified by 5:3 (the Spirit personally lied to) and 15:28 (the Spirit personally joins in a collective decision) — both decisive counter-evidence to any angelic/impersonal reading, and both must be taught explicitly.
Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند
Transliteration: k͟hudāvand
Doctrine: Lordship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: مالک, آقا
Original: κύριος
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:21,36 stack خداوند with مسیح and نجات in the single densest Critical convergence in the whole book; also 10:36 (‘he is Lord of all’) and 16:31. Render ‘یسوع خداوند ہے’-type formulas without qualification.
Son Of God
Approved rendering: خدا کا بیٹا
Transliteration: k͟hudā kā beṭā
Doctrine: Sonship of Christ
Rejected alternatives: ابن اللہ
Original: υἱὸς θεοῦ
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. THE single most doctrinally explosive term in this Language Package (shirk collision, Qur’an 4:48,116; 112:3). Acts context: 9:20 (Saul’s first proclamation) and 13:33 (citing Psalm 2:7) both require the mandatory eternal-not-begotten annotation at every occurrence.
Messiah
Approved rendering: مسیح
Transliteration: masīḥ
Doctrine: Messianic Promise
Original: Χριστός
Category: Christology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: extremely high-frequency (2:31,36,38; 3:18,20; 5:42; 8:5,12; 9:22; 17:3; 18:5,28); every occurrence should carry or reference the note that Qur’anic al-Masih for Isa lacks the OT-fulfillment, divine sonship, and atoning-death content Acts assumes.
Resurrection
Approved rendering: قیامت
Transliteration: qiyāmat
Doctrine: Resurrection of Christ
Rejected alternatives: پنر جنم
Original: ἀνάστασις
Category: Eschatology
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: Islam affirms a general bodily resurrection at the end of time (qiyamat), so this is not outright denial; the real risk is upstream at the crucifixion. Ch. 23:6-8’s Pharisee/Sadducee debate over the general resurrection must be distinguished from Christ’s specific, already-accomplished resurrection (26:23, ‘the first to rise from the dead’).
Cross Crucifixion
Approved rendering: صلیب / مصلوب
Transliteration: ṣalīb / maṣlūb
Doctrine: Crucifixion as Historical Fact
Original: σταυρός / σταυρόω / κρεμάννυμι ἐπὶ ξύλου
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans/Galatians package. Acts context: SINGLE HIGHEST-PRIORITY ESCALATION ITEM IN THE ACTS CURRICULUM. Multiple independent apostolic sermons (2:23,36; 4:10; 5:30; 10:39; 13:28-29) repeat a direct, second-person accusatory formula (‘you crucified/killed him’) asserting as apostolic consensus testimony the very event Qur’an 4:157 explicitly denies. Never allegorize, soften, or convert the accusatory ‘you’ into a passive construction.
Salvation
Approved rendering: نجات
Transliteration: najāt
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: مکتی
Original: σωτηρία
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:21,40,47; 4:12; 11:14; 13:26,47; 15:1,11; 16:17,30-31; 27:20,31,34; 28:28. Acts 4:12 (‘salvation in no one else’) is the most exclusivist single statement of this doctrine in the whole curriculum; 16:30-31 is the prime teaching text for the shared-word contrastive requirement.
Righteousness
Approved rendering: راستبازی
Transliteration: rāstbāzī
Doctrine: Salvation
Rejected alternatives: نیکی, تقویٰ
Original: δικαιοσύνη
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 13:10 (negative, ‘enemy of all righteousness’); 17:31; 24:25; also underlies the Christological title ‘the Righteous One’ (3:14; 22:14).
Justification
Approved rendering: راستباز ٹھہرایا جانا
Transliteration: rāstbāz ṭhahrāyā jānā
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: معافی پانا
Original: δικαιοῦται
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 13:39 (‘by him everyone who believes is justified from everything the law of Moses could not justify you from’) is Acts’ own direct narrative bridge to the Romans/Galatians justification doctrine; never معافی پانا.
Father
Approved rendering: باپ
Transliteration: bāp
Doctrine: Adoption into God’s Family
Original: πατήρ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: ‘the promise of the Father’ (1:4,7) ties directly to the Pentecost narrative; lower shirk-collision risk than ‘Son of God’ but still best introduced with brief relational framing.
Works Of The Law
Approved rendering: شریعت کے اعمال
Transliteration: sharī’at ke a’māl
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: اعمال (bare, unqualified), نیک اعمال
Original: ἔργα νόμου
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: 15:1,5 (implicit) and 13:39. Acts 15 is the narrative account of the very controversy Galatians addresses doctrinally; اعمال is a live Islamic deeds-at-judgment term and must always appear anchored to Mosaic Torah-observance, never bare.
Circumcision
Approved rendering: ختنہ
Transliteration: khatnah
Doctrine: The Jerusalem Council and Freedom from the Law
Original: περιτομή
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: 15:1,5; 16:3; 21:21. Khatna is a currently, widely practiced Islamic sunnah, not a historical curiosity; every occurrence must distinguish requiring circumcision for justification (denied) from the practice itself (not condemned, cf. 16:3; 21:23-26). Mandatory theologian review every occurrence.
Freedom
Approved rendering: آزادی
Transliteration: āzādī
Doctrine: Freedom in Christ
Original: ἐλευθερία / ζυγός
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: 15:10 (‘yoke’ language) and 24:23 (loose custody, non-doctrinal sense). Lower doctrinal density than in Galatians, but the same politically-resonant, apostasy-adjacent caution applies wherever teaching material extrapolates from Acts into applied discipleship content.
Repentance
Approved rendering: توبہ
Transliteration: tawbah
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: μετάνοια / μετανοέω
Category: Salvation
New for Acts. CRITICAL, same category as نجات in the baseline: established Urdu Christian term, simultaneously the central Islamic theological term for turning from sin within the mercy-weighed-against-deeds (mizan) framework, with no mediating atonement. Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 11:18; 13:24; 17:30; 19:4; 20:21; 26:20 all require explicit contrastive teaching that biblical repentance is immediately joined to baptism in Jesus’s name and reception of the Spirit’s gift, not a standalone act awaiting a future reckoning.
Call On The Name Of The Lord
Approved rendering: خداوند کے نام کا پکارنا
Transliteration: k͟hudāvand ke nām kā pukārnā
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: ἐπικαλέσηται τὸ ὄνομα κυρίου
Category: Salvation
New for Acts. Acts 2:21; 9:14,21; 22:16. Combines two baseline Critical terms (خداوند, نجات) in a single universal-access formula; this is the Acts source-text for the same formula Paul cites in Romans 10:9-13 and must render identically across the whole curriculum.
Blasphemy
Approved rendering: کفر / گستاخی
Transliteration: kufr / gustākhī
Doctrine: Blasphemy Accusation and Contemporary Legal Risk
Original: βλασφημία
Category: Sin
New for Acts. Acts 6:11,13; 26:11. CRITICAL AND DISTINCT IN KIND FROM EVERY OTHER TERM IN THIS LANGUAGE PACKAGE: collides not with historical Qur’anic doctrine but with CONTEMPORARY, LIVE Pakistani/Indian criminal law (e.g. Pakistan Penal Code Section 295-C), carrying severe real-world legal and social consequences including documented mob-violence history. Teaching material on ch. 6-7 requires an explicit contextual-safety note distinguishing the first-century Jewish legal-religious charge from present-day legal exposure. Mandatory combined theologian AND native-speaker legal-context review, not either alone.
Clean Unclean
Approved rendering: پاک / ناپاک
Transliteration: pāk / nā-pāk
Doctrine: Clean and Unclean, and Gentile Table-Fellowship
Rejected alternatives: حلال / حرام
Original: καθαρός / κοινός / ἀκάθαρτος
Category: Covenant
New for Acts. Acts 10:14-15,28; 11:8-9; 15:9,20,29. Structural parity with the ختنہ escalation: this abolition of OT dietary categories relates closely to the currently, widely practiced Islamic حلال/حرام system. پاک/ناپاک deliberately preferred over حلال/حرام to avoid the text being read as a direct verdict on contemporary Islamic dietary law. Mandatory theologian review every occurrence, parity with the circumcision rule.
Savior Title
Approved rendering: نجات دہندہ
Transliteration: najāt-dihanda
Doctrine: The Exclusivity of Salvation in Christ
Original: σωτήρ
Category: Salvation
New for Acts. Acts 5:31; 13:23. Directly derivative of نجات; as a personal title/name for Jesus, not just the abstract noun, this should receive the same theologian-review rigor.
High Risk Terms
Gospel
Approved rendering: خوش خبری
Transliteration: khush khabrī
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: انجیل شریف کی تعلیم
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: underlies بشارت کی خدمت (mission/service of the good news) throughout ch. 13-28; distinguish from انجیل used alone (the Qur’anic ‘corrupted book’ framing).
Grace
Approved rendering: فضل
Transliteration: faz̤l
Doctrine: Grace
Rejected alternatives: رحمت, احسان, کرم
Original: χάρις
Category: Salvation
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 4:33; 11:23; 13:43; 14:3,26; 15:11,40; 18:27; 20:24,32. Must be kept visibly distinct from the non-soteriological ‘general favor’ sense at 2:47 (see general_favor_nonsoteriological entry, this file) — the same Greek χάρις carries two different senses within one chapter.
Faith
Approved rendering: ایمان
Transliteration: īmān
Doctrine: Faith
Original: πίστις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 3:16; 6:5,7; 13:8; 14:9,22,27; 16:5; 20:21; 26:18. 20:21 pairs faith directly with توبہ (repentance); object of faith (Christ specifically) must always be explicit.
Called
Approved rendering: بلایا گیا
Transliteration: bulāyā gayā
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: دعوت دی گئی
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:39 (‘as many as the Lord our God calls’) is the book’s clearest effectual-calling statement; 9:15; 13:2; 16:10 (missionary calling sense). Never دعوت (da’wah-conflation risk).
Calling
Approved rendering: بلاہٹ
Transliteration: bulāhaṭ
Doctrine: Divine Calling
Rejected alternatives: دعوت
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: underlies 2:39’s universal-access promise language; noun form used in teaching material discussing 9:15, 13:2, 16:10.
Holy
Approved rendering: پاک
Transliteration: pāk
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: طاہر
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: underlies پاک روح القدس throughout, and پاک/ناپاک (see clean_unclean entry, this file) in the Cornelius narrative — note the SAME root پاک now also carries the ritual-purity-abolition sense in ch. 10-11,15, requiring careful sense-disambiguation in teaching notes.
Saints
Approved rendering: مقدس لوگ
Transliteration: muqaddas log
Doctrine: Sainthood
Rejected alternatives: ولی
Original: ἅγιοι
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 9:13,32,41; 26:10. Never ولی (Sufi wali/veneration category); corporate designation for all believers.
Sanctification
Approved rendering: تقدیس
Transliteration: taqdīs
Doctrine: Sanctification
Rejected alternatives: پاکیزگی
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 20:32; 26:18.
Law
Approved rendering: شریعت
Transliteration: sharī’at
Doctrine: Justification apart from the Law
Rejected alternatives: توریت
Original: νόμος
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: extremely frequent in the second half of Acts (6:13; 7:53; 13:15,39; 15:5; 18:13,15; 21:20,24,28; 22:3,12; 23:29; 24:14; 25:8; 28:23) in Jewish-Roman legal disputes; prefer توریت where narrowly Mosaic.
Sin
Approved rendering: گناہ
Transliteration: gunāh
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Original: ἁμαρτία
Category: Sin
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:38; 3:19; 7:60; 10:43; 13:38; 22:16; 26:18. Every doctrinally load-bearing use ties gناہ’s forgiveness specifically to Christ’s name and baptism (2:38; 10:43), never atomized into a standalone maghfirah act.
Glory
Approved rendering: جلال
Transliteration: jalāl
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: δόξα
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 7:2,55 (Stephen’s vision) and 12:23 (Herod’s judgment for accepting glory due to God alone) reinforce the baseline caution that جلال must remain anchored to God/Christ specifically, never generalized.
Power Of God
Approved rendering: خدا کی قدرت
Transliteration: k͟hudā kī qudrat
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: δύναμις θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 1:8 (‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you’) anchors Spirit-empowered witness as the book’s structuring theme; قدرت alone is safe, shared divine-attribute vocabulary, risk arises only when combined with signs_and_wonders (see that entry, this file).
Covenant
Approved rendering: عہد
Transliteration: ahd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Rejected alternatives: معاہدہ
Original: διαθήκη
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 3:25; 7:8. Stephen’s speech (ch. 7) is dense with covenant-history material.
Election
Approved rendering: خدا کا انتخاب
Transliteration: k͟hudā kā intik͟hāb
Doctrine: Effectual Calling
Rejected alternatives: تقدیر
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: underlies the ‘chosen instrument’ language of 9:15 (see chosen_instrument entry, this file); never تقدیر as a substitute, though the adjacency should be engaged directly, not avoided.
Providence
Approved rendering: خدا کی تدبیر
Transliteration: k͟hudā kī tadbīr
Doctrine: God’s Providence and Sovereign Plan
Rejected alternatives: تقدیر
Original: ἡ ὡρισμένη βουλὴ καὶ πρόγνωσις τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: God
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:23 frames the crucifixion itself as occurring ‘by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God’ (خدا کی مقررہ تدبیر اور پیشگی علم) — theologically necessary for teaching the crucifixion’s purposefulness to a reader for whom its historicity is contested; also 4:28; 20:27; 27:22-24.
Promise
Approved rendering: وعدہ
Transliteration: wa’dah
Doctrine: The Abrahamic Covenant and Promise
Original: ἐπαγγελία
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: 1:4; 2:33,39; 7:17; 13:23,32; 26:6. 2:38-39 is the anchor occurrence, extending the promise explicitly ‘to those far off’ — the seed of the Gentile-inclusion theme running through the rest of the book.
Baptism
Approved rendering: بپتسمہ
Transliteration: baptasmā
Doctrine: Repentance and Baptism
Rejected alternatives: غسل, وضو
Original: βάπτισμα / βαπτίζω
Category: Salvation
New for Acts. Acts 1:5; 2:38,41; 8:12-13,36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 16:15,33; 18:25; 19:3-5; 22:16. Never غسل (ghusl) or وضو (wudu), repeatable Islamic ritual-purity acts. Ch. 18-19 distinguish John’s preparatory baptism from full baptism ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’ with the Spirit; preserve this internal distinction via qualifying phrase, never flatten into a single undifferentiated rite.
Gift Of The Holy Spirit
Approved rendering: روح القدس کی بخشش
Transliteration: rūḥ al-qudus kī bakhshish
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: روحانی نعمتیں (rejected as the primary rendering here)
Original: ἡ δωρεὰ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος
Category: Salvation
New for Acts. Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17. δωρεά is a distinct Greek root from χάρισμα (روحانی نعمتیں, baseline ongoing ministry-gifts); this names the foundational, once-for-all Spirit-endowment given at conversion. Simon Magus’s attempt to buy it (8:18-20) is the key teaching text that it cannot be purchased or merited.
Martyr
Approved rendering: شہید
Transliteration: shahīd
Doctrine: The Martyrdom of Stephen
Original: μάρτυς (developing sense, of Stephen)
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 7:54-60; 22:20. Shared-term risk, same category as گناہ/ایمان/نجات: established Urdu Christian vocabulary, NOT a forbidden substitution, but simultaneously the central Islamic term for one who dies defending the faith, frequently associated with jihad, armed struggle, and popular automatic-paradise belief. Every occurrence must make explicit that Stephen’s death is suffered, non-violent, and forgiving (7:60) — the opposite posture from the jihad-martyrdom paradigm.
The Way
Approved rendering: یہ راہ
Transliteration: yih rāh
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: ἡ ὁδός
Category: Persecution
New for Acts. Acts 9:2; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22. The earliest self-designation for the Christian movement; closely parallels the Qur’an’s ‘straight path’ (al-sirat al-mustaqim) metaphor and shari’ah’s etymological sense. Usable pastorally as a genuine point of contact, but must specify: following the crucified and risen Jesus as Lord specifically, not a generic, interchangeable path-metaphor.
God Shows No Partiality
Approved rendering: خدا کسی کا طرفدار نہیں
Transliteration: k͟hudā kisī kā ṭarafdār nahī̃
Doctrine: God’s Impartiality toward Gentiles
Original: οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολήπτης ὁ θεός
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 10:34. Genuine resonance with the Qur’an’s own repeated affirmations of Allah’s impartial justice; teach the resonance honestly while showing the specific application (Gentiles fully included through faith in Christ, on equal terms with Jews) exceeds a generic impartiality claim.
Signs And Wonders
Approved rendering: نشان اور عجائبات
Transliteration: nishān aur ʿajā’ibāt
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: معجزہ (bare, as the primary term)
Original: σημεῖα καὶ τέρατα
Category: Miracles
New for Acts. Acts 2:19,22,43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:6,13; 14:3; 15:12. معجزہ is the standard Islamic technical term for a prophet’s authenticating miracle (used of Muhammad and earlier prophets); apostolic signs must be taught as authenticating Jesus’s unique divine identity, lordship, and resurrection specifically, not adding the apostles to a shared generic prophet-miracle category.
Boldness
Approved rendering: دلیری
Transliteration: dilerī
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: παρρησία
Category: Persecution
New for Acts. Acts 4:13,29,31; 9:27-28; 13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31. Must be taught as confident, unashamed proclamation flowing from conviction — never as encouragement toward public confrontation, defiance, or unnecessary disclosure that would increase a real-world reader’s risk.
Conversion Of Paul
Approved rendering: رجوع
Transliteration: rujūʿ
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: ἐπιστρέφω / ἐπιστροφή
Category: Conversion
New for Acts. Acts 9:1-19; 22:3-16; 26:9-18. Distinguish from the Islamic ‘reversion’ concept (return to an innate born-Muslim nature, fitrah); Paul’s conversion is a sovereign, Christ-initiated interruption and re-commissioning of a zealous, sincerely practicing religious man, not a return to an original nature. Render consistently across all three narrations.
Council Decree
Approved rendering: فیصلہ
Transliteration: faisla
Doctrine: The Jerusalem Council and Freedom from the Law
Rejected alternatives: فتویٰ
Original: ἔδοξεν / ἐπιστολή
Category: Covenant
New for Acts. Acts 15:19-29. FORBIDDEN SUBSTITUTION: never فتویٰ (fatwa), the specific Islamic juridical-ruling term issued by a qualified religious authority (mufti); the council’s collegial, Spirit-and-elders discernment model (15:28, ‘it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us’) does not match Islamic fatwa-issuing authority structures.
Spirit Of Divination
Approved rendering: غیب گوئی کی روح
Transliteration: g͟haib go’ī kī rūḥ
Doctrine: Occult and Divinatory Powers versus the Holy Spirit
Original: πνεῦμα πύθωνος
Category: Pneumatology
New for Acts. Acts 16:16-18. An unclean/occult spirit categorically distinct from روح القدس; never share vocabulary or risk conflation with the Holy Spirit entry — always qualify with بد روح (evil/unclean spirit) rather than bare روح.
Unknown God
Approved rendering: نامعلوم خدا
Transliteration: nāmaʿlūm k͟hudā
Doctrine: The ‘Unknown God’ and Exclusive Proclamation
Original: ἄγνωστος θεός
Category: Mission
New for Acts. Acts 17:23. Paul’s rhetorical bridge from pagan religious groping to the specific, exclusive proclamation of the true God revealed in the risen Christ (17:31). Must not be taught as implying religious pluralism (that Islam already worships this same God under a different name); Paul’s argument moves toward exclusive identification and a call to repent, not equivalence.
Servant Title Pais
Approved rendering: خدا کا خادم
Transliteration: k͟hudā kā k͟hādim
Doctrine: Deity of Christ
Original: παῖς
Category: Christology
New for Acts. Acts 3:13,26; 4:27,30. Christological title echoing Isaiah’s Suffering Servant; distinguish explicitly from ”Abduhu’ (His servant), the Islamic devotional honorific applied to Muhammad in the shahada — identifies Jesus uniquely with Isaiah’s Servant fulfilled in him alone.
Holy And Righteous One
Approved rendering: پاک اور راستباز
Transliteration: pāk aur rāstbāz
Doctrine: Deity and Lordship of Christ in Acts
Original: ὁ ἅγιος καὶ δίκαιος
Category: Christology
New for Acts. Acts 3:14; cf. 22:14 (ὁ δίκαιος alone). Christological title combining باseline پاک (High) and راستبازی (Critical); inherits both risks.
Author Of Life
Approved rendering: زندگی کا بانی
Transliteration: zindagī kā bānī
Doctrine: Deity and Lordship of Christ in Acts
Original: ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ζωῆς
Category: Christology
New for Acts. Acts 3:15. Follows immediately after ‘you killed’ language; the same crucifixion-denial collision flagged at 2:23,36 recurs here.
Medium Risk Terms
Apostle
Approved rendering: رسول
Transliteration: rasūl
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: نبی
Original: ἀπόστολος
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: throughout, esp. ch. 1-15. Acts’ own qualification for apostleship — eyewitness testimony to the risen Christ (1:21-22) — must be taught as distinct from the Qur’anic scripture-bearing-messenger paradigm culminating in Muhammad as ‘seal of the prophets.‘
Spiritual Gifts
Approved rendering: روحانی نعمتیں
Transliteration: rūḥānī ni’matẽ
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Rejected alternatives: کرامات
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: distinct Greek root (χάρισμα) from δωρεά (see gift_of_the_holy_spirit entry, this file); keep the two categories lexically separate — روحانی نعمتیں for ongoing ministry-enablements, روح القدس کی بخشش for the once-for-all conversion-endowment.
Church
Approved rendering: کلیسیا
Transliteration: kalīsiyā
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: مسجد, امت
Original: ἐκκλησία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:47(v.l.); 5:11; 8:1,3; 9:31; 11:22,26; 12:1,5; 13:1; 14:23,27; 15:3-4,22,41; 16:5; 18:22; 19:32,39-41; 20:17,28. Never مسجد or امت.
Kingdom Of God
Approved rendering: خدا کی بادشاہی
Transliteration: k͟hudā kī bādshāhī
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ
Category: Kingdom
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: opens (1:3,6) and closes (28:23,31) the book, forming its narrative bracket. Distinguish from a political caliphate/khilafat concept.
Gentiles
Approved rendering: غیر قوموں
Transliteration: g͟hair qaumõ
Doctrine: The Gospel to Jews and Gentiles
Rejected alternatives: کافر
Original: ἔθνη
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 9:15; 10:45; 11:1,18; 13:46-48; 14:27; 15:3-23; 18:6; 21:11-25; 22:21; 26:17-23; 28:28 — the book’s central Jew-Gentile narrative arc gives this term its highest-frequency use in the whole curriculum. Never کافر.
Mission
Approved rendering: بشارت کی خدمت
Transliteration: bishārat kī k͟hidmat
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Rejected alternatives: دعوت, تبلیغ
Original: ἀποστολή / πέμπω
Category: Mission
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: throughout ch. 13-28. Never دعوت/تبلیغ, despite Acts’ genuine structural parallel to the da’wah missionary-mandate shape (see 04_comparative_theology.md).
Israel
Approved rendering: اسرائیل
Transliteration: isrā’īl
Doctrine: Unity of Jews and Gentiles
Original: Ἰσραήλ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 1:6; 2:36; 4:10,27; 5:21,31; 13:23-24.
Revelation
Approved rendering: مکاشفہ
Transliteration: mukāshafah
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ἀποκάλυψις
Category: Faith
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: implicit throughout the vision/dream narratives (see vision_dream entry, this file); a sovereign divine act, not attained Sufi kashf.
Abraham
Approved rendering: ابراہام
Transliteration: ibrāhām
Doctrine: The Abrahamic Covenant and Promise
Rejected alternatives: ابراہیم (Qur’anic form, rejected per baseline consistency)
Inherited from Galatians extension. Acts context: 3:13,25; 7:2-8,17,32; 13:26. Teach Acts’ covenant-fulfillment argument on its own terms without appearing to concede or rebut Qur’an 3:67’s parallel ‘first muslim’ claim.
Sorcery
Approved rendering: جادوگری
Transliteration: jādūgarī
Doctrine: Occult and Divinatory Powers versus the Holy Spirit
Inherited from Galatians extension (works_of_the_flesh_sorcery). Acts context: 8:9-24 (Simon Magus); 13:6-11 (Elymas); 19:13,19 (magic scrolls burned). Live regional occult practice; handle descriptively, always distinct from روح القدس.
Pentecost
Approved rendering: پنتِکُست کا تہوار
Transliteration: pantikust kā tehwār
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Rejected alternatives: عید پنتِکُست
Original: πεντηκοστή
Category: Pneumatology
New for Acts. Acts 2:1; 20:16. عید avoided to prevent immediate association with Eid al-Fitr/Eid al-Adha; تہوار (religiously neutral ‘festival’) plus the transliterated proper name preferred.
Tongues Glossolalia
Approved rendering: دیگر زبانیں
Transliteration: digar zabānẽ
Doctrine: The Holy Spirit and Pentecost
Original: ἑτέραις γλώσσαις
Category: Pneumatology
New for Acts. Acts 2:4,6,8,11; 10:46; 19:6. Must be presented as real, intelligible known human languages (confirmed by hearers recognizing their own tongues), never generic ecstatic utterance; distinguish at first occurrence from regional devotional ecstatic-speech phenomena.
Witness
Approved rendering: گواہ
Transliteration: gawāh
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: μάρτυς / μάρτυρες
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 1:8,22; 2:32; 3:15; 5:32; 10:39,41; 13:31; 22:15,20; 26:16. The book’s central self-designation for the apostles as eyewitness-testifiers; keep distinct from the developing ‘martyr’ sense (see martyr entry, this file).
Chosen Instrument
Approved rendering: چنا ہوا برتن
Transliteration: chunā huā bartan
Doctrine: Paul’s Commissioning as God’s Chosen Instrument
Original: σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς
Category: Conversion
New for Acts. Acts 9:15. Ties directly to the baseline election entry (خدا کا انتخاب); reuse that entry’s caution regarding تقدیر.
Tribulation Persecution
Approved rendering: مصیبت
Transliteration: musībat
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: θλῖψις
Category: Persecution
New for Acts. Acts 14:22; 20:23. Frames suffering as the normal, expected path of discipleship, not an anomaly.
Hope
Approved rendering: امید
Transliteration: ummīd
Doctrine: The Hope of the Resurrection
Original: ἐλπίς
Category: Faith
New for Acts. Acts 23:6; 24:15; 26:6-8; 28:20. Must be tied specifically to the hope of Christ’s own resurrection and the believer’s future bodily resurrection, not left as generic optimism; genuine positive point of comparison with Islamic rajā’ (hope in Allah’s mercy) provided the specific Christological ground is made explicit.
Breaking Of Bread
Approved rendering: روٹی توڑنا
Transliteration: roṭī toṛnā
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: ἡ κλάσις τοῦ ἄρτου
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 2:42,46; 20:7,11; 27:35. Avoid over-defining as the later formal Eucharistic rite not yet doctrinally developed in the text itself.
Having All Things In Common
Approved rendering: سب کچھ مل کر بانٹنا
Transliteration: sab kuchh mil kar bāṇṭnā
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: ἅπαντα κοινά
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 2:44-45; 4:32,34-35. Voluntary, love-motivated sharing, not enforced communal property or a substitute for zakat/sadaqah; respectful comparison without conflating mechanisms or obligations.
General Favor Nonsoteriological
Approved rendering: لوگوں کی نظر میں پسندیدگی
Transliteration: logõ kī naẕar mē̃ pasandīdagī
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: فضل (rejected for this specific non-soteriological sense)
Original: χάρις (general sense)
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 2:47. Disambiguation entry: χάρις here means general social favor/goodwill, not the soteriological فضل (grace); keep the two senses visibly distinct for learners moving between this passage and Romans.
Elders Overseers
Approved rendering: بزرگ / نگہران
Transliteration: buzurg / nigahrān
Doctrine: Church Leadership and Eldership
Original: πρεσβύτεροι / ἐπίσκοπος
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 14:23; 15:2,4,6,22-23; 20:17,28; 21:18. بزرگ carries deep cultural respect and is also associated in some popular Muslim devotional contexts with Sufi elder/pir figures who may receive quasi-veneration; church elders are a functional, accountable teaching-and-shepherding office among equals, echoing the baseline’s caution against ولی for ‘saints.‘
Vision Dream
Approved rendering: رویا / خواب
Transliteration: royā / k͟hwāb
Doctrine: Apostolic Authority and Miracles
Original: ὅραμα / ὄναρ / ἐνύπνιον
Category: Pneumatology
New for Acts. Acts 2:17; 9:10,12; 10:3,17,19; 16:9-10; 18:9; 26:19. Genuinely shared vocabulary with Islamic ru’ya/istikhara dream-guidance tradition; present as unique, Spirit-given authoritative direction within the unrepeated apostolic-founding narrative, not a general ongoing personal-guidance technique.
Satan
Approved rendering: شیطان
Transliteration: shaiṯān
Doctrine: Conversion of Paul
Original: Σατανᾶς
Category: Sin
New for Acts. Acts 26:18. Genuinely shared vocabulary with the Islamic Shaitan/Iblis concept; broadly safe common ground. Minor translator-awareness note: Islamic tradition sometimes distinguishes Iblis (proper name) from shaytan (broader tempting-jinn category), not resolved here but worth awareness.
Ends Of The Earth
Approved rendering: زمین کی انتہا تک
Transliteration: zamīn kī intihā tak
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς
Category: Kingdom
New for Acts. Acts 1:8; 13:47. Anchor phrase opening the book’s mission theme, echoed at 13:47, fulfilled narratively by 28:31; render consistently at every recurrence.
Low Risk Terms
Thanksgiving
Approved rendering: شکرگزاری
Transliteration: shukr-guzārī
Doctrine: Thanksgiving
Inherited from Romans package. No Acts-specific risk change.
Fellowship
Approved rendering: رفاقت
Transliteration: rifāqat
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: امت
Original: κοινωνία
Category: Church
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: underlies the community-life description of 2:42-47. Never امت.
Prophet
Approved rendering: نبی
Transliteration: nabī
Doctrine: Inspiration of Scripture
Original: προφήτης
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: throughout, esp. Stephen’s speech (ch. 7) and citations of Joel (2:16) and Isaiah (13:47).
Prophecy
Approved rendering: پیشن گوئی
Transliteration: peshan go’ī
Doctrine: Fulfillment of Prophecy
Original: προφητεία / προφητεύω
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:16-18 (Joel citation); 11:27-28; 21:9-11 (Agabus).
David
Approved rendering: داؤد
Transliteration: dā’ūd
Doctrine: Davidic Covenant
Original: Δαυίδ
Category: Covenant
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 1:6; 2:25-34; 4:10,25-27; 13:22-23,34-36; 15:16.
Exhort
Approved rendering: نصیحت کرنا
Transliteration: naṣīḥat karnā
Doctrine: Mutual Edification
Original: παρακαλέω
Category: Faith
Inherited from Romans package. Acts context: 2:40; 11:23; 14:22; 15:32; 16:40; 20:1-2.
Christian Name
Approved rendering: مسیحی
Transliteration: masīḥī
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Rejected alternatives: عیسائی (acceptable colloquially, not preferred for formal doctrinal material)
Original: Χριστιανός
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 11:26; 26:28. Established, standard formal Urdu Christian self-designation.
One Heart And Soul
Approved rendering: ایک دل اور جان
Transliteration: ek dil aur jān
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: μία καρδία καὶ ψυχή
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 4:32; cf. 2:44-46. Descriptive community-unity term.
Vow Nazirite
Approved rendering: نذر
Transliteration: naẕr
Doctrine: The Church as Community
Original: εὐχή
Category: Church
New for Acts. Acts 21:23-26; 18:18. Genuine positive bridge term (Islamic nadhr is a recognized, currently practiced devotional-vow concept); clarify Paul’s participation is culturally sensitive accommodation to Jewish custom, not a doctrinal requirement of the gospel.
Roman Citizenship
Approved rendering: رومی شہریت
Transliteration: rūmī shahriyat
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: πολίτης Ῥωμαῖος / Ῥωμαῖος
Category: Persecution
New for Acts. Acts 16:37-38; 22:25-29; 23:27. Civil-legal status term, historical-descriptive.
Appeal To Caesar
Approved rendering: قیصر سے اپیل کرنا
Transliteration: qaiṣar se apīl karnā
Doctrine: Persecution and Bold Witness
Original: ἐπικαλοῦμαι Καίσαρα
Category: Persecution
New for Acts. Acts 25:11-12,21; 26:32; 28:19. Civil-legal procedural term, no significant doctrinal risk.
Unhindered
Approved rendering: بلا روک ٹوک
Transliteration: bilā rok ṭok
Doctrine: The Great Commission Fulfilled
Original: ἀκωλύτως
Category: Kingdom
New for Acts. Acts 28:31. The book’s deliberate final word; preserve the open, hopeful, non-triumphalist tone; connects narratively back to 1:8’s commission.
Referenced passages