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.
Your Lord never destroys cities without firstsending a messenger in their midst, reciting to them Our revelations. And We never destroy the cities, unless their people are wrongdoers.
Translation Talal Itani, ClearQuran·Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1875–1936 · published 1930
And never did thy Lord destroy the townships, till He had raised up in their mother(-town) a messenger reciting unto them Our revelations. And never did We destroy the townships unless the folk thereof were evil-doers
Sources
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
Edward Henry Palmer1840–1882 · published 1880
But thy Lord would never destroy cities until He sent to the metropolis thereof an apostle, to recite to them our signs; nor would we destroy cities unless their people were unjust
Sources
Translation Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
But thy Lord did not destroy the cities till He had sent an apostle to their mother-city to rehearse our signs to its people: nor did we destroy the cities unless its people were unjust
Sources
Translation John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
But thy Lord did not destroy those cities, until He had sent unto their capital an apostle, to rehearse our signs unto them: Neither did We destroy those cities, unless their inhabitants were injurious to their apostle
Sources
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
Other languages (18)Shqip · Albanian
Zoti yt kurrë nuk do t'i shkatërronte vendbanimet pa dërguar më parë në qendrën e tyre një të dërguar, që t'ua lexonte atyre ajetet Tona. Dhe, Ne kurrë nuk do të shkatërronim ndonjë vendbanim, përveç nëse banorët e tij do të ishin të padrejtë.
Translated by the team of Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.5
বাংলা · Bengali
আর (হে রাসূল!) তোমার রব কোনো জনপদকে ধ্বংস করেন না; যতক্ষণ না তিনি তার মূল ভূখণ্ডে রাসূল প্রেরণ করেন, যে তাদের কাছে আমার আয়াতসমূহ তিলাওয়াত করবে। আর কোনো জনপদের অধিবাসীরা (কুফরী ও পাপে লিপ্ত হয়ে) যালিম না হলে আমি তাদেরকে ধ্বংস করি না।
Translated by the team of Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Dawah Association in Rabwah, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.2
Bosanski · Bosnian
A Gospodar tvoj nikada nije naselja uništavao dok u njihov glavni grad poslanika ne bi poslao, da im dokaze Naše kazuje. I Mi smo samo onda naselja uništavali kad su stanovnici njihovi nasilnici bili.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 2.0.4
Hrvatski · Croatian
A Gospodar tvoj nikada nije naselja uništavao dok u njihov glavni grad poslanika ne bi poslao, da im dokaze Naše kazuje. I Mi smo samo onda naselja uništavali kad su stanovnici njihovi nasilnici bili.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.1
Fulfulde · Fulani
Joomi maa siforaali won'de kalkoowo yimɓe ca'e, haa O immina e leñol maɓɓeɗen, Nulaaɗo, ko janngana ɓe aayeeje Amen ɗen. Min siforaali kadi kalkugol yimɓe ca'e, si wonaa hara yimɓe majje ko tooñuɓe.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
ქართული · Georgian
და არ არის შენი უფალი ისეთი, რომ დაღუპოს სოფლები [მათი მცხოვრებნი], სანამ არ წარგზავნიდა მათთან მოციქულს, რომელიც წაუკითხავს მათ ჩვენს სასწაულებს და ჩვენ არ ვართ ისეთნი, რომ დავღუპოთ სოფლები, გარდა იმ შემთხვევისა, როცა მათი მცხოვრებნი იყვნენ უსამართლონი.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.7
Deutsch · German
Und dein Herr hätte nimmer die Ortschaften vernichtet, bevor Er nicht in ihrer (größten) Mitte einen Gesandten hätte erstehen lassen, der ihnen Unsere Zeichen verliest. Und Wir hätten die Ortschaften nimmer vernichtet, wenn ihre Bewohner nicht ungerecht gewesen wären.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.15
Ελληνικά · Greek
Ο Κύριός σου (ω, Προφήτη) δε θα κατέστρεφε ποτέ τις κωμοπόλεις μέχρι να στείλει πρώτα στην κύρια κωμόπολη ανάμεσά τους, έναν Αγγελιαφόρο που θα τους απαγγέλλει τα Εδάφια Μας. Και δε θα καταστρέφαμε τις κωμοπόλεις, εκτός οι κάτοικοί τους να ήταν άδικοι.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
हिन्दी · Hindi
और आपका पालनहार कभी बस्तियों को विनष्ट करने वाला नहीं, यहाँ तक कि उनके केंद्र में एक रसूल भेजे जो उनके सामने हमारी आयतें पढ़े। तथा हम कभी बस्तियों को विनष्ट करने वाले नहीं, परंतु जबकि उसके निवासी अत्याचारी हों।
Translated by Azizul Haq Al-Omari
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.5
Italiano · Italian
E il tuo Dio non distrugge mai una città finché non invia alla Capitale un Messaggero a recitare loro i Nostri Segni. E non distruggevamo le città a meno che i loro abitanti non fossero ingiusti.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
Lietuvių · Lithuanian
59. Ir niekada jūsų Viešpats nenaikins miestų (gyventojų) kol Jis neatsiųs jų tėvynei Pasiuntinio, recituojančio jiems Mūsų Eilutes. Ir niekada Mes nenaikintume miestų, nebent jų žmonės yra iš Zalimūn (daugiadievių, bloga darančiųjų, netikinčiųjų Allaho Vienumą, engėjų ir tironų).
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.8
Afaan Oromoo · Oromo
Rabbiin kee [warra] magaalotaa hanga irra guddoo ishee keessatti ergamaa keeyyattoota keenya isaan irratti dubbisu ergutti kan balleessu hin taane. Nuti (warra) magaalotaa qubattoonni ishee miidhaa hojjattoota ta’anii malee kan balleessinu hin taane.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.0
Русский · Russian
Твой Господь не губил селений, пока не посылал в главное из них посланника, читающего им Наши аяты. И Мы не губили селений, если только их обитатели не были несправедливы.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.1
Српски · Serbian
А Господар твој никада није насеља уништавао док у њихов главни град посланика не би послао, да им речи и доказе Наше казује. И Ми смо насеља уништавали само онда кад су становници њихови незнанобошци били.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.4
Kiswahili · Swahili
Na Mola wako Mlezi haangamizi miji mpaka ampeleke Mtume katika miji yake mikuu awasomee Ishara zetu. Wala hatuiangamizi miji mpaka watu wake wawe madhalimu.
Issued by the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.5
Svenska · Swedish
Din Herre skulle aldrig förinta ett samhälle utan att först ha skickat ett sändebud till deras huvudort för att recitera våra budskap för dem. Och vi förintar endast samhällen vars invånare är djupt orättfärdiga.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.2
Türkçe · Turkish
Rabbin, kendilerine ayetlerimizi okuyan bir rasûlü memleketlerin anasına (Mekke'ye) göndermedikçe, o memleketleri helâk edici değildir. Biz, halkı zalim olan beldelerden başkasını helâk edici değiliz.
Translated by the team of the Rowwad Translation Center, in cooperation with the Rabwah Dawah Association, the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages, and the IslamHouse.com website.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.4
اردو · Urdu
تیرا رب کسی ایک بستی کو بھی اس وقت تک ہلاک نہیں کرتا جب تک کہ ان کی کسی بڑی بستی میں اپنا کوئی پیغمبر نہ بھیج دے جو انہیں ہماری آیتیں پڑھ کر سنا دے[1] اور ہم بستیوں کو اسی وقت ہلاک کرتے ہیں جب کہ وہاں والے ﻇلم وستم پر کمر کس لیں.[2]
Translated by Muhammad Ibrahim Junagarhi, developed under the supervision of the Rowwad Translation Center. The original translation is available for the purpose of expressing opinion, evaluation, and continuous development.
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.3
About these translations
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.
About easy-read
Easy-read
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.
Easy-read (simplified)waqaaloo in nattabi'i l-hudaa ma'aka nutakhattaf min ardinaa awalam numakkin lahum haraman aaminan yujbaa ilayhi thamaraatu kulli shay'in rizqan min ladunnaa walaakinna aktharahum laa ya'lamoon
DIN 31635waqālū ʾin nattabiʿi l-hudā maʿaka nutaḫaṭṭaf min ʾarḍinā ʾawalam numakkin lahum ḥaraman ʾāminan yuǧbā ʾilayhi ṯamarātu kulli šayʾin rizqan min ladunnā walākinna ʾakṯarahum lā yaʿlamūna
Talal Itani2012 And they say, "If we follow the guidance with you, we will be snatched from our land." Did We not establish for them a Safe Sanctuary, to which are brought all kinds of fruits, as provision from Ourselves? But most of them do not know.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 And they say: If we were to follow the Guidance with thee we should be torn out of our land. Have We not established for them a sure sanctuary, whereunto the produce of all things is brought (in trade), a provision from Our presence? But most of them know not
Edward Henry Palmer1880 And they say, 'If we follow the guidance we shall be snatched away from the land.' Have we not established for them a safe sanctuary, to which are imported the fruits of everything as a provision from us? but most of them do not know
John Medows Rodwell1861 But they say, "If we follow the way in which thou art guided, we shall be driven from our country." But have we not established for them a sacred secure precinct, to which fruits of every kind, our gift for their support, are gathered together? But most of them have no knowledge
George Sale1734 The Meccans say, if we follow the same direction with thee, we shall be forcibly expelled our land. Have We not established for them a secure asylum; to which fruits of every sort are brought, as a provision of our bounty? But the greater part of them do not understand
Easy-read (simplified)wakam ahlaknaa min qaryatin batirat ma'eeshatahaa fatilka masaakinuhum lam tuskan min ba'dihim illaa qaleelan wakunnaa nahnu l-waaritheen
DIN 31635wakam ʾahlaknā min qaryatin baṭirat maʿīšatahā fatilka masākinuhum lam tuskan min baʿdihim ʾillā qalīlan wakunnā naḥnu l-wāriṯīna
The translators word this verse differently
Talal Itani2012 And how many a city did We destroy for turning unappreciative of its livelihood? Here are their homes, uninhabited after them, except for a few. And We became the Inheritors.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 And how many a community have We destroyed that was thankless for its means of livelihood! And yonder are their dwellings, which have not been inhabited after them save a little. And We, even We, were the inheritors
Edward Henry Palmer1880 How many a city have we destroyed that exulted in its means of subsistence? These are their dwellings, never dwelt in after them, except a little; for we were the heirs
John Medows Rodwell1861 And how many cities have we destroyed that flourished in wanton ease! And these their dwellings have not been inhabited since their time save by a few, and it is we who became their heirs
George Sale1734 How many cities have We destroyed, whose inhabitants lived in ease and plenty? And these their dwellings are not inhabited after them, unless for a little while; and We were the inheritors of their wealth
DIN 31635wamā ʾūtītum min šayʾin famatāʿu l-ḥayāti d-dunyā wazīnatuhā wamā ʿinda llāhi ḫayrun waʾabqā ʾafalā taʿqilūna
The translators word this verse differently
Talal Itani2012 Whatever thing you are given is but the material of this world, and its glitter. But what is with God is better, and longer lasting. Do you not comprehend?
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 And whatsoever ye have been given is a comfort of the life of the world and an ornament thereof; and that which Allah hath is better and more lasting. Have ye then no sense
Edward Henry Palmer1880 Whatever thing ye may be given, it is a provision for this world's life and the adornment thereof; but what is with God is better and more enduring; have ye then no sense
John Medows Rodwell1861 And all that hath been bestowed on you is merely for enjoyment and pomp of this life present: but that which is with God is better and more lasting. Will ye not be wise
George Sale1734 The things which are given you, are the provisions of this present life, and the pomp thereof; but that which is with God, is better and more durable: Will ye not therefore understand
Easy-read (simplified)afaman wa'adnaahu wa'dan hasanan fahuwa laaqeehi kaman matta'naahu mataa'a l-hayaati d-dunyaa thumma huwa yawma l-qiyaamati mina l-muhdareen
DIN 31635ʾafaman waʿadnāhu waʿdan ḥasanan fahuwa lāqīhi kaman mattaʿnāhu matāʿa l-ḥayāti d-dunyā ṯumma huwa yawma l-qiyāmati mina l-muḥḍarīna
Talal Itani2012 Can someone to whom We have made a fine promise-which he will attain-be equal to someone to whom We have given enjoyments in this world, but who will be, on Resurrection Day, among the arraigned?
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 Is he whom We have promised a fair promise which he will find (true) like him whom We suffer to enjoy awhile the comfort of the life of the world, then on the Day of Resurrection he will be of those arraigned
Edward Henry Palmer1880 Is He to whom we have promised a goodly promise, which he shall meet with, like him to whom we have given the enjoyment of the life of this world, and who upon the resurrection day shall be of the arraigned
John Medows Rodwell1861 Shall he then to whom we have promised a goodly promise and who obtaineth it, be as he on whom we have bestowed the enjoyments of this life present, and who on the day of Resurrection shall be brought up for punishment
George Sale1734 Shall he then, unto whom We have promised an excellent promise of future happiness, and who shall attain the same, be as he on whom we have bestowed the provision of this present life, and who, on the day of resurrection, shall be one of those who are delivered up to eternal punishment
These figures count the words the translations share. They measure wording, not meaning, and they do not say which translation is right.
Derived measure: mean pairwise Jaccard distance over the
lowercased word sets of the 5 renderings above —
0.64 on a scale
where 0 means identical wording and 1 means no shared words. It is
computed, not judged.
The page says a verse is worded differently only above the cut below. The cut is a stated convention, not a property of the text, and it can be changed.
The cut
0.644
Share of measured verses above it
33%
Verses above it
2,079
Verses measured
6,236
Talal Itani · George Sale0.80
Talal Itani · John Medows Rodwell0.77
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · George Sale0.72
Edward Henry Palmer · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.71
Talal Itani · Edward Henry Palmer0.71
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · John Medows Rodwell0.69
Talal Itani · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.64
Edward Henry Palmer · George Sale0.51
John Medows Rodwell · George Sale0.44
Edward Henry Palmer · John Medows Rodwell0.43
One bar per pair of renderings, longest bar for the pair
sharing fewest words. Every pair is shown; none is singled out.
Method Wording differences — derived 13 September 2026
Method
Mean pairwise Jaccard distance over the lowercased word sets of the cleared translations of each verse. A verse is marked as worded differently when its score falls in the top third of the corpus — the cut set out in Analysis details.
As at
13 September 2026, 10:56 UTC
Gate
verify/divergence_gate.py re-derives and fails on drift
The platform does not say which is right, and does not
characterise what the difference means. The renderings are placed
together so the difference is visible; reading it is the reader's work.
Sources, editions and licences for everything above
ReceiptsSource fact
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.
Source Tanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) · Uthmani, Version 1.1
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 ayahs. The bismillah is delivered as a separate `bismillah` attribute on ayah 1 and is NOT fused into the ayah text. 112 surahs carry one: every surah except al-Fatiha, where the bismillah is ayah 1:1 itself, and at-Tawba, which has none. Sourced from the XML output; the plain-text output of the same release DOES fuse it, which is defect D1.
CLEARED. Licence read verbatim from the block embedded in this very file. Ingested exactly as shipped: no normalisation, no stripping of marks, no Unicode recomposition.
Parsed structurally from the EPUB: an h3 names the surah, one p per verse with its number in its own span. An unnumbered p is the basmala and is not a verse, except in surah 1 where the basmala IS verse 1. 112 unnumbered paragraphs were found, which is 114 surahs less surah 1 and surah 9. Text is stored VERBATIM: NFC normalisation and XML entity unescaping only, because CC BY-ND forbids modification.
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.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
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.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
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.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 verses, keyed to mushaf order. The
bismillah is not fused into ayah 1: 1:1 carries it and no other verse
does. Verified against content check C3 at ingest.
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.
Hafs/Kufan verse numbering, 6236 ayahs. The bismillah is delivered as a separate `bismillah` attribute on ayah 1 and is NOT fused into the ayah text. 112 surahs carry one: every surah except al-Fatiha, where the bismillah is ayah 1:1 itself, and at-Tawba, which has none. Sourced from the XML output; the plain-text output of the same release DOES fuse it, which is defect D1.
CLEARED. Parallel edition, held in ayah_text_variants. It sits alongside the Uthmani spine for search normalisation and is never used to correct it.