إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ ٱلْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُۥ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ
Easy-read (simplified)illaa man khatifa l-khatfata fa'atba'ahu shihaabun thaaqib
DIN 31635ʾillā man ḫaṭifa l-ḫaṭfata faʾatbaʿahu šihābun ṯāqibun
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
The translators word this verse differently
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.
While, if one steal a word by stealth, a glistening flame pursueth him
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
Except for him who snatches a fragment-he gets pursued by a piercing projectile.
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
Save him who snatcheth a fragment, and there pursueth him a piercing flame
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
save such as snatches off a word, and there follows him a darting flame
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
except him who catcheth a word by stealth, and is pursued by a shining flame
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
me përjashtim të atij që rrëmben vjedhurazi ndonjë fjalë, të cilin e ndjek një shigjetë flakëruese që shpon.
তবে কেউ (শয়তান) গোপনে হঠাৎ কিছু শুনে ফেললে , তাকে পিছু তাড়া করে জ্বলন্ত উল্কাপিণ্ড।
a onog koji šta ugrabi – stigne svjetlica blistava.
a onog koji što ugrabi – stigne svjetlica blistava.
Si wonaa ndun bifti ndu e majji, jilannde [haala], ndu rewnree hoodere tufatnde.
(ეშმაკები ვერ ისმენენ უმაღლეს საზოგადოებას) გარდა იმათგან [ეშმაკთაგან], ვინც სწრაფად მოიპარავს სიტყვას [ანგელოზთა ნათქვამს], და მას მყისვე მისდევს მბზინავი, მფრქვეველი ალმური.
außer jemandem, der rasch etwas (an Wörtern) aufschnappt und den dann ein durchbohrend heller Leuchtkörper verfolgt.
(Δεν μπορούν οι διάβολοι να κρυφακούσουν τους Αγγέλους στον ουρανό) παρά μόνο όποιος (διάβολος) αρπάξει γρήγορα μερικές λέξεις, και αμέσως θα τον ακολουθήσει ένα λαμπερό διαπεραστικό πεφταστέρι.
परंतु जो कोई (शैतान फरिश्तों की किसी बात को) अचानक उचक ले जाए, तो एक दहकता हुआ अंगारा (उल्का)[2] उसका पीछा करता है।
tranne chi coglie al volo un Segno, che viene seguito da una meteora ardente.
10. Išskyrus tokį kaip išplėšimą vogiant, ir jie persekiojami liepsnojančios ugnies, veriančio ryškumo.
Warra (wahyii) butiinsa bute malee, qaanqeen uraa (fulla'aa) ta’e isa hordofa (itti darbatama).
Кроме тех, кто выхватит [весть] украдкой, и тогда его преследует пронзающий светоч.
а онога који шта уграби - стигне светлећа буктиња.
Isipokuwa anayenyakua kitu kidogo, na mara humfwatia kimondo kinachong'ara.
Om någon snappar upp något [som sagts i den högsta församlingen] följs han av ett flammande stjärnskott.
Ancak bir (söz) çalıp kapan olursa onu da parlak bir ateş izler.
مگر جو کوئی ایک آدھ بات اچک لے بھاگے تو (فوراً ہی) اس کے پیچھے دہکتا ہوا شعلہ لگ جاتا ہے.
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
لَّا يَسَّمَّعُونَ إِلَى ٱلْمَلَإِ ٱلْأَعْلَىٰ وَيُقْذَفُونَ مِن كُلِّ جَانِبٍ
Easy-read (simplified)laa yassamma'oona ilaa l-mala'i l-'a'laa wayuqdhafoona min kulli jaanib
DIN 31635lā yassammaʿūna ʾilā l-malaʾi l-ʾaʿlā wayuqḏafūna min kulli ǧānibin
They cannot eavesdrop on the Supernal Elite, for they get bombarded from every side.
They cannot listen to the Highest Chiefs for they are pelted from every side
that they may not listen to the exalted chiefs; for they are hurled at from every side
That they overhear not what passeth in the assembly on high, for they are darted at from every side
that they may not listen to the discourse of the exalted princes, -- for they are darted at from every side
دُحُورًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ وَاصِبٌ
Easy-read (simplified)duhooran walahum 'adhaabun waasib
DIN 31635duḥūran walahum ʿaḏābun wāṣibun
The translators word this verse differently
Repelled-they will have a lingering torment.
Outcast, and theirs is a perpetual torment
driven off, and for them is lasting woe
Driven off and consigned to a lasting torment
to repel them, and a lasting torment is prepared for them
37:10 — the verse above
فَٱسْتَفْتِهِمْ أَهُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَم مَّنْ خَلَقْنَآ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَٰهُم مِّن طِينٍ لَّازِبٍۭ
Easy-read (simplified)fastaftihim ahum ashaddu khalqan am man khalaqnaa innaa khalaqnaahum min teenin laazib
DIN 31635fastaftihim ʾahum ʾašaddu ḫalqan ʾam man ḫalaqnā ʾinnā ḫalaqnāhum min ṭīnin lāzibin
Inquire of them, "Are they more difficult to create, or the others We created?" We created them from sticky clay.
Then ask them (O Muhammad): Are they stronger as a creation, or those (others) whom we have created? Lo! We created them of plastic clay
Ask them whether they are stronger by nature or (the angels) whom we have created? We have created them of sticky clay
Ask the Meccans then, Are they, or the angels whom we have made, the stronger creation? Aye, of coarse clay have we created them
Ask the Meccans therefore, whether they be stronger by nature, or the angels whom We have created? We have surely created them of stiff clay
بَلْ عَجِبْتَ وَيَسْخَرُونَ
Easy-read (simplified)bal 'ajibta wayaskharoon
DIN 31635bal ʿaǧibta wayasḫarūna
The translators word this verse differently
But you wonder, and they ridicule.
Nay, but thou dost marvel when they mock
Nay, thou dost wonder and they jest
But while thou marvellest they mock
Thou wondrest at God's power and their obstinacy; but they mock at the arguments urged to convince them
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Uthmani) ·Uthmani, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
إِلَّا مَنْ خَطِفَ الْخَطْفَةَ فَأَتْبَعَهُ شِهَابٌ ثَاقِبٌ
EditionTanzil Qur'an text (Simple) ·Simple, Version 1.1·Tanzil Project ·Creative Commons Attribution 3.0·retrieved 24 Aug 2026
In plain words — none yet for this verse
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 — 0.76 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.
One bar per pair of renderings, longest bar for the pair sharing fewest words. Every pair is shown; none is singled out.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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/