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.
The Jews said, "Ezra is the son of God," and the Christians said, "The Messiah is the son of God." These are their statements, out of their mouths. They emulate the statements of those who blasphemed before. May God assail them! How deceived they are!
Translation Talal Itani, ClearQuran·Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1875–1936 · published 1930
And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the saying of those who disbelieved of old. Allah (Himself) fighteth against them. How perverse are they
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
The Jews say Ezra is the son of God; and the Christians say that the Messiah is the son of God; that is what they say with their mouths, imitating the sayings of those who misbelieved before.- God fight them! how they lie
Sources
Translation Edward Henry Palmer, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
The Jews say, "Ezra (Ozair) is a son of God"; and the Christians say, "The Messiah is a son of God." Such the sayings in their mouths! They resemble the saying of the Infidels of old! God do battle with them! How are they misguided
Sources
Translation John Medows Rodwell, English translation of the Qur'an·Public domain — copyright term expired
The Jews say, Ezra is the son of God: And the Christians say Christ is the son of God. They say this (only) with their mouths: They imitate the saying of those who were unbelievers in formertimes. May God curse them (literally: fight against them)! How can they be so infatuated
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
Hebrenjtë thonë: "Uzejri është biri i Allahut", kurse të krishterët thonë: "Mesihu (Isai) është biri i Allahut." Këto janë thjesht fjalë që ata i thonë, duke imituar fjalët e jobesimtarëve para tyre. Allahu i shkatërroftë! Si mund të mashtrohen?!
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 ইয়াহূদীরা বলে: ‘উযায়র আল্লাহর পুত্র’ এবং খ্রিস্টানরা বলে: ‘মাসীহ্ আল্লাহর পুত্র।’ এটা তাদের নিছক মুখের কথা, আগে যারা কুফরি করেছিলো, তারা তাদের মতো কথা বলছে।(১৩) আল্লাহ তাদের সবাইকে ধ্বংস করুণ (পথভ্রষ্ট হওয়ার কারণে) কোন দিকে তাদেরকে ফিরিয়ে দেয়া হচ্ছে!(‘১৪)
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
Jevreji govore: “Uzejr je Allahov sin", kršćani kažu: “Mesih je Allahov sin." To su riječi njihove, iz usta njihovih, oponašaju riječi nevjernika prijašnjih – ubio ih Allah! Kuda se odmeću?
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
Židovi govore: “Uzejr[1] je Allahov sin.” A kršćani kažu: “Mesija je Allahov sin.” To su riječi njihove, iz usta njihovih, oponašaju riječi nevjernika prijašnjih – ubio ih Allah! Kuda se odmeću?!
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
Alyahuuda'en mbi'i : "Uzayru ko ɓiɗɗo Alla", Annasara'en kadi mbi'i : "Almasiihu ko ɓiɗɗo Alla". Ɗuum ko konngol maɓɓe iwrungol e kunndule maɓɓe. heɓe nanndinoo konngol ɓeen yeddunooɓe ko adii. Alla huɗii ɓe. Ko honno ɓe wonaa fefindoreede (pirlitirtee) (e meere)?!
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
იუდეველებმა თქვეს: «უზაირი[1] ალლაჰის ძეა», ხოლო ქრისტიანებმა თქვეს: «მესია [მოციქული ისა] ალლაჰის ძეა». ეს მხოლოდ სიტყვებია, რომლებიც მათი ბაგეებიდან გამოდის. ისინი თავიანთი სიტყვებით ჰგვანან მათ, ვინც უწინ ურწმუნონი გახდნენ (იმ მრავალღმერთიანებს, რომლებმაც თქვეს, რომ ანგელოზები ალლაჰის ასულები არიან). ალლაჰმა დაღუპოს ისინი! როგორ არიან ისინი ჭეშმარიტებისგან გადახრილნი!
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 die Juden sagen: „'Uzayr ist der Sohn Allahs“, und die Christen sagen: „Al-Masih ist der Sohn Allahs.“ Dies sind ihre Worte aus ihren (eigenen) Mündern. Sie führen hierbei ähnliche Worte an, wie diejenigen, die zuvor ungläubig waren. Allah vernichte sie! Wie sie sich doch (von der Wahrheit) abwenden!
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
Οι Εβραίοι είπαν: «Ο ‘Ουζάιρ (Έσδρας) είναι ο γιος του Αλλάχ.», και οι Χριστιανοί είπαν: «Ο Μεσσίας είναι ο γιος του Αλλάχ.» Αυτά είναι τα λόγια που είπαν με τα στόματά τους (χωρίς να έχουν καμία απόδειξη). Μοιάζουν με τα λόγια των άπιστων από πριν [που είπαν: «Οι άγγελοι είναι οι κόρες του Αλλάχ.» -Ύψιστος είναι ο Αλλάχ και Ανώτερος από ό,τι Του αποδίδουν-]. Είθε ο Αλλάχ να τους καταστρέψει. Πώς παρεκκλίνουν από την αλήθεια;
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
तथा यहूदियों ने कहा कि उज़ैर अल्लाह का पुत्र है और ईसाइयों ने कहा कि मसीह अल्लाह का पुत्र है। ये उनके अपने मुँह की बातें हैं। वे उन लोगों जैसी बातें कर रहे हैं, जिन्होंने इनसे पहले कुफ़्र किया। उनपर अल्लाह की मार हो! वे कहाँ बहकाए जा रहे हैं?
Translated by Azizul Haq Al-Omari
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.1.5
Italiano · Italian
E dissero gli Ebrei: “‘Uzeir è il figlio di Allāh”. E dissero i nazareni: “Il Messīħ è figlio di Allāh”: quello che loro hanno dichiarato con le loro bocche, è simile a quello che i miscredenti dissero in passato. Che Allāh li punisca! Come si allontanano dalla retta via!
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
30. Ir judėjai sako: „Uzair (Ezra) yra Allaho sūnus“, o krikščionys sako: „Mesijas yra Allaho sūnus.“ Tai jų žodžiai jų burnomis, panašūs į žodžius tų, kurie netikėjo seniau. Allaho Prakeiksmas jiems, kaip jie nuklydę nuo tiesos!
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
Yahuudonni “Uzayr ilma Rabbiiti” jette. Kiristaanonni “Masiih ilma Rabbiiti” jette. Kun jecha isaanii (kankijibaa) kanuma afaanoowwan isaaniiti (baheedha). Jecha isaan duraan kafaraniitti ni fakkeessu. Rabbi isaan haa balleessu, akkamitti (dhugaa irraa) garagalu!
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
Сказали иудеи: «‘Узайр — сын Аллаха», а христиане сказали: «Мессия — сын Аллаха». Это — лишь их слова, произнесённые их устами. Они подражают словам тех, кто отверг веру прежде. Да погубит их Аллах! Как же они могут быть настолько отвращены от истины?
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
Јевреји говоре: „Узејр је Аллахов син“, а хришћани кажу: „Месија је Аллахов син.“ То су њихове речи, из њихових уста, опонашају речи претходних неверника - убио их Аллах! Куда се одмећу?
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 Mayahudi walisema: Uzeir ni mwana wa Mwenyezi Mungu. Na Wakristo walisema: Masihi ni mwana wa Mwenyezi Mungu. Hiyo ni kauli yao tu kwa vinywa vyao. Wanayaiga maneno ya wale waliokufuru kabla yao. Mwenyezi Mungu awaangamize! Wanageuzwa namna gani hawa!
Issued by the Islamic Content Service Association in Languages
From QuranEnc.com, version 1.0.5
Svenska · Swedish
Judarna säger: ”Esra är Guds son”, och de kristna säger: ”Messias är Guds son.” Dessa ord lämnar deras munnar! Deras ord liknar de tidigare otrognas. Må Gud förgöra dem! Hur kan de låta sig avledas så?
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
Yahudiler: "Uzeyir Allah’ın oğludur." dediler. Hristiyanlar da "Mesih Allah’ın oğludur." dediler. Bu, daha önce kâfir olanların sözlerine benzeterek onların ağızlarıyla söyledikleri (uydurma) sözleridir. Allah onları kahretsin, nasıl da (haktan) çevriliyorlar.
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
یہود کہتے ہیں عزیر اللہ کا بیٹا ہے اور نصرانی کہتے ہیں مسیح اللہ کا بیٹا ہے یہ قول صرف ان کے منھ کی بات ہے۔ اگلے منکروں کی بات کی یہ بھی نقل کرنے لگے اللہ انہیں غارت کرے وه کیسے پلٹائے جاتے ہیں۔
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.
Talal Itani2012 O you who believe! The polytheists are polluted, so let them not approach the Sacred Mosque after this year of theirs. And if you fear poverty, God will enrich you from His grace, if He wills. God is Aware and Wise.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 O ye who believe! The idolaters only are unclean. So let them not come near the Inviolable Place of Worship after this their year. If ye fear poverty (from the loss of their merchandise) Allah shall preserve you of His bounty if He will. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise
Edward Henry Palmer1880 O ye who believe! it is only the idolaters who are unclean; they shall not then approach the Sacred Mosque after this year. But if ye fear want then God will enrich you from His grace if He will; verily, God is knowing, wise
John Medows Rodwell1861 O Believers! only they who join gods with God are unclean! Let them not, therefore, after this their year, come near the sacred Temple. And if ye fear want, God, if He please, will enrich you of His abundance: for God is Knowing, Wise
George Sale1734 O true believers, verily the idolaters are unclean; let them not therefore come near unto the holy temple after this year. And if ye fear want, by the cutting off trade and communication with them, God will enrich you of his abundance, if He pleaseth; for God is knowing and wise
Talal Itani2012 Fight those who do not believe in God, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden, nor abide by the religion of truth-from among those who received the Scripture-until they pay the due tax, willingly or unwillingly.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, and forbid not that which Allah hath forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the Religion of Truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low
Edward Henry Palmer1880 Fight those who believe not in God and in the last day, and who forbid not what God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who do not practice the religion of truth from amongst those to whom the Book has been brought, until they pay the tribute by their hands and be as little ones
John Medows Rodwell1861 Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled
George Sale1734 Fight against them who believe not in God, nor in the last day, and forbid not that which God and his apostle have forbidden, and profess not the true religion, of those unto whom the scriptures have been delivered, until they pay tribute by right of subjection, and they be reduced low
DIN 31635ittaḫaḏū ʾaḥbārahum waruhbānahum ʾarbāban min dūni llāhi wal-masīḥa bna maryama wamā ʾumirū ʾillā liyaʿbudū ʾilāhan wāḥidan lā ʾilāha ʾillā huwa subḥānahu ʿammā yušrikūna
Talal Itani2012 They have taken their rabbis and their priests as lords instead of God, as well as the Messiah son of Mary. Although they were commanded to worship none but The One God. There is no god except He. Glory be to Him; High above what they associate with Him.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah son of Mary, when they were bidden to worship only One Allah. There is no Allah save Him. Be He Glorified from all that they ascribe as partner (unto Him)
Edward Henry Palmer1880 They take their doctors and their monks for lords rather than God, and the Messiah the son of Mary; but they are bidden to worship but one God, there is no god but He; celebrated be His praise, from what they join with Him
John Medows Rodwell1861 They take their teachers, and their monks, and the Messiah, son of Mary, for Lords beside God, though bidden to worship one God only. There is no God but He! Far from His glory be what they associate with Him
George Sale1734 They take their priests and their monks for their lords, besides God, and Christ the son of Mary; although they are commanded to worship one God only: There is no God but He; far be that from Him, which they associate with Him
Talal Itani2012 They want to extinguish God's light with their mouths, but God refuses except to complete His light, even though the disbelievers dislike it.
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall1930 Fain would they put out the light of Allah with their mouths, but Allah disdaineth (aught) save that He shall perfect His light, however much the disbelievers are averse
Edward Henry Palmer1880 They desire to put out the light of God with their mouths, but God will not have it but that we should perfect His light, averse although the misbelievers be
John Medows Rodwell1861 Fain would they put out God's light with their mouths: but God only desireth to perfect His light, albeit the Infidels abhor it
George Sale1734 They seek to extinguish the light of God with their mouths; but God willeth no other than to perfect his light, although the infidels be averse thereto
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 —
0.57 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 Sale0.65
John Medows Rodwell · George Sale0.63
Talal Itani · John Medows Rodwell0.62
Edward Henry Palmer · George Sale0.58
Talal Itani · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.57
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · George Sale0.57
Edward Henry Palmer · John Medows Rodwell0.54
Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall · John Medows Rodwell0.53
Talal Itani · Edward Henry Palmer0.51
Edward Henry Palmer · Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall0.49
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.