وَمَا خَلَقْنَا ٱلسَّمَآءَ وَٱلْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَٰعِبِينَ
Easy-read (simplified)wamaa khalaqnaa s-samaa'a wal-'arda wamaa baynahumaa laa'ibeen
DIN 31635wamā ḫalaqnā s-samāʾa wal-ʾarḍa wamā baynahumā lāʿibīna
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
7 sources stand behind this page. Each is listed once, in the order the page first cites it, with the licence it was cleared under and what was actually read. Nothing on this page rests on a source that is not here.
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CLEARED on a licence read first-hand from the translator's own download page, not from an aggregator. Tanzil also hosts this translation, but under a blanket "non-commercial purposes only" term that directs the user to the translator or publisher for permission - a hosting disclaimer, not a grant - so the grant was taken from the licensor directly. The "God" edition was ingested; ClearQuran also publishes an "Allah" edition, differing in how the divine name is rendered, which is not ingested.
CLEARED ON THE WORK, WITH TWO RECORDED CAVEATS ON THIS COPY. (1) Rights basis is the expired copyright term, NOT the redistributing repository's licence. That repository dedicates its contents to the public domain under the Unlicense while also redistributing plainly in-copyright translations (Abdel Haleem, Saheeh International, The Study Quran), so it is dedicating rights it cannot hold and its blanket grant is not relied upon here. (2) The file declares its own upstream as tanzil.net, and Tanzil attaches a non-commercial condition to its TRANSLATION distributions, though not to its Qur'anic text. Since Pickthall's copyright has expired, nobody holds rights in these words and no licence is required from anyone; Tanzil's terms are a contract binding those who download from Tanzil, which we did not. The chain is nonetheless not spotless and Anwar may prefer a clean digitisation of the 1930 printing. NOT VERIFIED: that this digital text matches the 1930 first printing rather than a later revised edition. No page images were collated. Recorded as unverified rather than presented as established. SERVED TEXT DIFFERS FROM THE CITED FILE AT ONE VERSE, 37:97: the file reads "red-hotfire" (a glued token, also in Gutenberg #16955); the served row reads "red-hot fire", restored 2026-09-13 from Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran (London: George Allen & Unwin, printed for Alfred A. Knopf; 1930), p. 460, XXXVII 97 - scan archive.org in.ernet.dli.2015.216140, PDF page 475; banked data/derivation-sources/pickthall-1930-dli-2015.216140-text.pdf (sha256 70e81146c97fa3a590243a82e04e349108546074787e2551a78c616202138870) on Anwar Malik's grant.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. The digital edition's upstream is not stated by the redistributor and the printing is unverified. No statement of purpose is recorded for Palmer because none was sourced from his own preface in this pass; nothing is asserted on his behalf.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. TWO edition caveats. (1) The upstream is not stated by the redistributor. (2) Rodwell's own edition PRESENTS THE SURAHS IN HIS OWN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, not the mushaf order — he says so in his preface. This digital text is keyed to mushaf order, so it derives from a restored-order printing (such as the Everyman edition) rather than from Rodwell's own arrangement. Which printing is not stated and has not been established.
CLEARED ON THE WORK. Term expired by every measure. The digital edition's upstream is NOT STATED by the redistributor, so the printing it represents is unverified; Sale's text was reprinted and re-edited many times between 1734 and 1900. Recorded as unverified rather than assumed to be the first edition.
CLEARED. Parallel edition, held in ayah_text_variants. It sits alongside the Uthmani spine for search normalisation and is never used to correct it.
Marked words appear in this translation and in no other English translation of this verse. Common small words and older spellings are not marked. The marks show where the wording differs, not where the meaning does.
We did not create the sky and the earth and what is between them for amusement.
Talal Itani, ClearQuran ·ClearQuran, "God" edition, EPUB·Talal Itani / ClearQuran.com ·Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International·retrieved 7 Sep 2026
Translation by Talal Itani, ClearQuran.com https://clearquran.com
We created not the heaven and the earth and all that is between them in play
Translation Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran·Public domain — copyright term expired
Pickthall, The Meaning of the Glorious Koran ·1930 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
We did not create the heaven and the earth and what is between the two in play
Translation Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an ·1880 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
We created not the heaven and the earth, and what is between them, for sport
Translation John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an ·1861 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
We created not the heavens and the earth, and that which is between them, by way of sport
Translation George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
George Sale, English translation of the Qur'an ·1734 translation, digital edition of unverified printing·None — public domain work ·Public domain — copyright term expired·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
Ne nuk i krijuam qiejt, Tokën dhe gjithçka që gjendet mes tyre për argëtim.
আর আসমানসমূহ, জমিন ও এতদুভয়ের মাঝখানে যা কিছু আছে, তার কোনো কিছুই আমি খেলাচ্ছলে সৃষ্টি করিনি।(৫)
Mi nismo stvorili nebo i Zemlju i ono što je između njih da se zabavljamo.
Mi nismo stvorili nebo i Zemlju i ono što je između njih da se zabavljamo.
Min tagaani kammu ngun e leydi ndin e ko woni kon hakkunde majji ko Min fijooɓe.
და ჩვენ არ შეგვიქმნია ცა და მიწა და [ყველაფერი] რაც მათ შორისაა გართობისთვის.
Und Wir haben den Himmel und die Erde und was dazwischen ist, nicht zum Spiel erschaffen.
Πράγματι, δε δημιουργήσαμε τους ουρανούς και τη γη και ό,τι υπάρχει ανάμεσά τους για διασκέδαση (ή άσκοπα, αλλά είναι μία ένδειξη της Δύναμής Μας).
तथा हमने आकाश और धरती को और जो कुछ उन दोनों के बीच है, खेलते हुए नहीं बनाया।
E non creammo il cielo e la terra e ciò che c’è di mezzo per divertimento.
16. Mes nesukūrėme dangų ir žemės ir visko, kas tarp jų, (vien) tik pramogai. [1]
Nuti samii, dachiifi wantoota isaan lamaan gidduu jiran taphattoota taanee hin uumne.
Мы не сотворили небо и землю, и всё, что между ними, забавляясь.
Ми нисмо створили небо и Земљу и оно што је између њих да се забављамо.
Na hatukuziumba mbingu na ardhi na vilivyo baina ya hivyo kwa mchezo.
Vi har inte skapat himlen och jorden och allt däremellan som ett meningslöst tidsfördriv.
Biz yeri, göğü ve arasındakileri oyun olsun diye yaratmadık.
ہم نے آسمان وزمین اور ان کے درمیان کی چیزوں کو کھیلتے ہوئے نہیں بنایا.[1]
5 cleared translations, newest first, by year of publication, so the modern English comes before the historical ones. That is an ordering by date, not a judgement. Each is shown complete — this platform never excerpts a translation — and each renders under its translator's name. No translation here is marked as the correct one.
Which translations appear here is set by copyright: they are the ones whose rights could be documented and cleared. The selection is not a judgement that these are the best.
Easy-read is a simplified pronunciation, not authoritative — a rule-by-rule romanisation, not a reading. Each verse ends in its pause form, as it is said when you stop there. Pauses inside a verse and other tajwid rules are not shown. It is derived from the Tanzil Simple edition, while the Arabic above is the Uthmani edition; both are cleared, but they are not the same edition and their orthography differs.
shown so it's never read alone
قَالُوا۟ يَٰوَيْلَنَآ إِنَّا كُنَّا ظَٰلِمِينَ
Easy-read (simplified)qaaloo yaa waylanaa innaa kunnaa zaalimeen
DIN 31635qālū yā waylanā ʾinnā kunnā ẓālimīna
The translators word this verse differently
They said, "Woe to us; we were unfair."
They cried: Alas for us! we were wrong-doers
Said they, 'O woe is us! verily, we were wrong-doers
They said, "Oh, woe to us! Verily we have been evil doers
They answered, alas for us! Verily we have been unjust
فَمَا زَالَت تِّلْكَ دَعْوَىٰهُمْ حَتَّىٰ جَعَلْنَٰهُمْ حَصِيدًا خَٰمِدِينَ
Easy-read (simplified)famaa zaalat tilka da'waahum hattaa ja'alnaahum haseedan khaamideen
DIN 31635famā zālat tilka daʿwāhum ḥattā ǧaʿalnāhum ḥaṣīdan ḫāmidīna
This continued to be their cry, until We made them silent ashes.
And this their crying ceased not till We made them as reaped corn, extinct
And that ceased not to be their cry until we made them mown down,- smouldering out
And this ceased not to be their cry, until we made them like reaped corn, extinct
And this their lamentation ceased not, until we had rendered them like corn which is mowen down, and utterly extinct
21:16 — the verse above
لَوْ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نَّتَّخِذَ لَهْوًا لَّٱتَّخَذْنَٰهُ مِن لَّدُنَّآ إِن كُنَّا فَٰعِلِينَ
Easy-read (simplified)law aradnaa an nattakhidha lahwan laattakhadhnaahu min ladunnaa in kunnaa faa'ileen
DIN 31635law ʾaradnā ʾan nattaḫiḏa lahwan lāttaḫaḏnāhu min ladunnā ʾin kunnā fāʿilīna
The translators word this verse differently
If We wanted amusement, We could have found it within Us, were We to do so.
If We had wished to find a pastime, We could have found it in Our presence - if We ever did
Had we wished to take to a sport, we would have taken to one from before ourselves; had we been bent on doing so
Had it been our wish to find a pastime, we had surely found it in ourselves; - if to do so had been our will
If We had pleased to take diversion, verily We had taken it with that which beseemeth Us; if We had resolved to have done this
بَلْ نَقْذِفُ بِٱلْحَقِّ عَلَى ٱلْبَٰطِلِ فَيَدْمَغُهُۥ فَإِذَا هُوَ زَاهِقٌ وَلَكُمُ ٱلْوَيْلُ مِمَّا تَصِفُونَ
Easy-read (simplified)bal naqdhifu bil-haqqi 'alaa l-baatili fayadmaghuhu fa'idhaa huwa zaahiqun walakumu l-waylu mimmaa tasifoon
DIN 31635bal naqḏifu bil-ḥaqqi ʿalā l-bāṭili fayadmaġuhu faʾiḏā huwa zāhiqun walakumu l-waylu mimmā taṣifūna
In fact, We hurl the truth against falsehood, and it crushes it, so it vanishes. Woe unto you, for what you describe.
Nay, but We hurl the true against the false, and it doth break its head and lo! it vanisheth. And yours will be woe for that which ye ascribe (unto Him)
Nay, we hurl the truth against falsehood and it crashes into it, and lo! it vanishes, but woe to you for what ye attribute (to God)
Nay, we will hurl the truth at falsehood, and it shall smite it, and lo! it shall vanish. But woe be to you for what ye utter of God
But We will oppose truth to vanity, and it shall confound the same; and behold, it shall vanish away. Woe be unto you, for that which ye impiously utter concerning God
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) ·Uthmani, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
وَمَا خَلَقْنَا السَّمَاءَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا لَاعِبِينَ
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Simple) ·Simple, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
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SourceTanzil Qur'an text (Simple) ·Simple, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
SourceTanzil Qur'an text (Simple) ·Simple, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
Qur'anic text from the Tanzil Project. Copyright (C) 2007-2026 Tanzil Project License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Source: tanzil.net · Updates: tanzil.net/updates/ https://tanzil.net/updates/