Drawing on the concept of pseudo-translation, this article presents a reading of Tahar Ben Jelloun's La Nuit sacrée and its Arabic translation. The main argument is that, despite its success, particularly in France, La Nuit sacrée remains essentially a subverted representation of Arab-Islamic realities and as such it represents a case of invented sources. Likewise, its Arabic translation employs calculated discursive choices that make it alien in Arabic. Further, this translation does not seem to serve any translational mission as an instance of intercultural communication. As such and like its presumed source, the Arabic translation can only be seen as a good case of pseudo-translation and not translation.