Al-Karabisi reported that the Rashidun Caliphs, as well as the kings that came after them, had only one interpreter each. If a non-Arab comes before a judge who does not know his tongue, then interpreting is acceptable only through two competent men of equity who know his language. If the fatwa issuer does not know the inquirer’s language, or if the inquirer does not know the mufti’s, one person can interpret between them. The rule whereby one interpreter is sufficient has been extended by Abu Hanifa’s school to the assessment of the witnesses’ competency or lack thereof, messages, claims, admissions and denials before a judge, and identification. While the need for administrative and institutional translation became more pressing with the expansion of the Islamic commonwealth, starting with the late seventh century, this type of translation had been an everyday reality since the earliest stages of Islam.