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Popular and/or Featured Works
Muhammad Asad   
The lightning well-nigh takes away their sight; whenever it gives them light, they advance therein, and whenever darkness falls around them, they stand still. And if God so willed, He could indeed take away their hearing and their sight: for, verily, God has the power to will anything
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
It is as if the lightning were about to snatch away their sight. Whenever lightning strikes, they walk in its light, but when darkness covers them, they stand still. Had Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and sight. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.
Safi Kaskas   
The lightning almost blinds them. Whenever it shines, they walk by its light. When it is dark, they stand still. If God had willed, he would have taken away their hearing and their sight. God has power over all things.

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Source Arabic and Literal tools
Arabic   
یَكَادُ ٱلۡبَرۡقُ یَخۡطَفُ أَبۡصَـٰرَهُمۡۖ كُلَّمَاۤ أَضَاۤءَ لَهُم مَّشَوۡا۟ فِیهِ وَإِذَاۤ أَظۡلَمَ عَلَیۡهِمۡ قَامُوا۟ۚ وَلَوۡ شَاۤءَ ٱللَّهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمۡعِهِمۡ وَأَبۡصَـٰرِهِمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَیۡءࣲ قَدِیرࣱ ۝٢٠
Transliteration (2021)   
yakādu l-barqu yakhṭafu abṣārahum kullamā aḍāa lahum mashaw fīhi wa-idhā aẓlama ʿalayhim qāmū walaw shāa l-lahu ladhahaba bisamʿihim wa-abṣārihim inna l-laha ʿalā kulli shayin qadīru
Word for Word
Dr. Shehnaz Shaikh, Ms. Kauser Katri, and more
  
Almost the lightning snatches away their sight. Whenever it flashes for them they walk in it, and when it darkens on them they stand (still). And if had willed Allah, He would certainly have taken away their hearing, and their sight. Indeed, Allah (is) on every thing All-Powerful.

Generally Accepted Translations of the Meaning
Muhammad Asad   
The lightning well-nigh takes away their sight; whenever it gives them light, they advance therein, and whenever darkness falls around them, they stand still. And if God so willed, He could indeed take away their hearing and their sight: for, verily, God has the power to will anything
M. M. Pickthall   
The lightning almost snatcheth away their sight from them. As often as it flasheth forth for them they walk therein, and when it darkeneth against them they stand still. If Allah willed, He could destroy their hearing and their sight. Lo! Allah is able to do all things
Yusuf Ali (Saudi Rev. 1985)   
The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (Helps) them, they walk therein, and when the darkness grows on them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for Allah hath power over all things
The Clear Quran, Dr. Mustafa Khattab   
It is as if the lightning were about to snatch away their sight. Whenever lightning strikes, they walk in its light, but when darkness covers them, they stand still. Had Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and sight. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.
Safi Kaskas   
The lightning almost blinds them. Whenever it shines, they walk by its light. When it is dark, they stand still. If God had willed, he would have taken away their hearing and their sight. God has power over all things.
Wahiduddin Khan   
The lightning almost takes away their sight: whenever it flashes upon them, they walk on, but as soon as darkness falls around them, they stand still. Indeed, if God pleased, He could take away their hearing and their sight: God has power over all things
Shakir   
The lightning almost takes away their sight; whenever it shines on them they walk in it, and when it becomes dark to them they stand still; and if Allah had pleased He would certainly have taken away their hearing and their sight; surely Allah has power over all things
Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar   
The lightning almost snatches their sight. When it illuminated for them, they walked in the light. And when it grew dark against them, they stood still. And if God willed, He would have taken away their having the ability to hear and their sight. Truly, God is Powerful over everything.
T.B.Irving   
Lightning almost snatches their sight away: each time it lights things up for them, they walk along in it, while when darkness settles down on them, they stand stockstill. If God wanted, He would take away their hearing and eyesight; God is capable of everything!
Abdul Hye   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight; whenever it flashes for them, they walk in it; and when it darkens against them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Certainly, Allah has power over all things.
The Study Quran   
The lightning all but snatches away their sight. Whenever it shines for them, they walk therein, and when darkness comes over them, they halt. Had God willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Truly God is Powerful over all things
Talal Itani & AI (2024)   
The lightning almost takes away their sight. Whenever it illuminates for them, they walk in it; but when darkness covers them, they stand still. If God wills, He could take away their hearing and sight. God is capable of everything.
Talal Itani (2012)   
The lightning almost snatches their sight away. Whenever it illuminates for them, they walk in it; but when it grows dark over them, they stand still. Had God willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. God is capable of everything
Dr. Kamal Omar   
The lightening almost snatches away their sights, whenever it flashed for them, they walked therein, and whenever it caused darkness over them, they came to a halt. And if Allah willed, He could have moved away with their hearing and their sights. Certainly Allah has full control over everything
M. Farook Malik   
The lightning terrifies them as if it was going to snatch away their eyesight; whenever it flashes they walk on; when it becomes dark, they stand still. And if Allah wanted He could have totally taken away their hearing and their sight; for Allah has power over everything
Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali   
The lightning almost snatches their beholdings (Literally: eyesights); whenever it illuminates for them they walk in it, and when it darkens over them, they keep stationed; and if Allah had so decided, He would indeed have gone away with (i.e., taken away) their hearing and their beholdings. (Literally: eyesights) Surely Allah is Ever Determiner over everything
Muhammad Sarwar   
The lightning almost takes away their vision. When the lightning brightens their surroundings, they walk and when it is dark, they stand still. Had God wanted, He could have taken away their hearing and their vision. God has power over all things
Muhammad Taqi Usmani   
and lightning (all but) snatches away their eyesight; every time a flash gives them light, they walk by it; and when darkness falls upon them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He would certainly take away their hearing and their eyes: surely Allah is powerful to do anything
Shabbir Ahmed   
(People who reject the Divine Revelation and rely solely on their intellect, do not realize that Revelation is to the intellect what sunlight is to the human eye. It takes them out of darkness into Light (2:257)). They walk a few steps, as if in flashes of lightning, in a stop and go fashion. And when darkness prevails, they stand still. It is the Law of Allah that those who defy Reason eventually have the proper use of their perceptual senses, hearing and vision, taken away. Behold, Allah is the All-Powerful Designer of His Laws and He has Supreme Control over all things. ((2:201), (7:183), (11:15), (17:18-21), (29:54), (30:24), (42:20), (79:36), (82:16))
Dr. Munir Munshey   
Lightning almost snatches their sight away. During the flashes of lightning they walk, and they stand still when it is dark. Allah could have taken away their hearing and their sight, had He so willed. Indeed, Allah is capable of doing everything
Syed Vickar Ahamed   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight, every time the light (helps) them, they walk in there, and when the darkness covers them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could take away their hearing and their sight; Because Allah has power (Khadir) over all things
Umm Muhammad (Sahih International)   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Every time it lights [the way] for them, they walk therein; but when darkness comes over them, they stand [still]. And if Allah had willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent
[The Monotheist Group] (2011 Edition)   
The lightning nearly snatches away their sight, whenever it lights the path they walk in it, and when it becomes dark for them they stand. Had God willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight; God is capable of all things
Abdel Haleem   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it crashes o
Abdul Majid Daryabadi   
The lightning well-nigh snatcheth away their sight; whensoever it flasheth on them, they walk therein, and when it becometh dark unto them, they stand still. And had Allah willed He would of a surety have taken away their hearing and their sights; verily Allah is over everything potent
Ahmed Ali   
Verily the lightning could snatch away their eyes. When it flashes forth they walk in its flare. When darkness returns they stand still. And if the Lord wills so He could take away their hearing and sight; surely God is all-powerful
Aisha Bewley   
The lightning all but takes away their sight. Whenever they have light, they walk in it but whenever darkness covers them, they halt. If Allah wished, He could take away their hearing and their sight. Allah has power over all things.
Ali Ünal   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Whenever it gives them light, they take a few steps in it, and when the darkness covers them, they stand still. Had God so willed, indeed He would have taken away their hearing and sight. Surely God has full power over everything
Ali Quli Qara'i   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it shines for them, they walk in it, and when the darkness falls upon them, they stand. Had Allah willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Indeed Allah has power over all things
Hamid S. Aziz   
The lightning well-nigh snatches off their sight, whenever it shines for them they walk therein; but when it is dark for them they halt; and if Allah willed He would go off with their hearing and their sight; verily, Allah is mighty over all
Ali Bakhtiari Nejad   
Lightning almost takes away their sight, and whenever it lights up around them, they walk in it, and when it becomes dark around them, they stand still. If God wanted, He would have taken away their hearing and their sights. God is capable of everything.
A.L. Bilal Muhammad et al (2018)   
The lightning nearly snatches away their sight. Every time the light flashes before them they walk in it. But when darkness covers them they stand still. And if God willed, He could take away their ability to hear and see, for God has power over all things
Musharraf Hussain   
The lightning nearly blinds them; whenever it lights up they walk aboutin it, and when it falls dark they stand still. If Allah wanted, He could take their hearing and sight. Allah controls all things
Maududi   
The lightning terrifies them as if it were going to snatch away their eyesight from them. When they see light, they move on a little further and When it becomes dark for them, they stand still. Had Allah so willed, He could have deprived them totally of their hearing and their sight. Most surely Allah has power over everything
[The Monotheist Group] (2013 Edition)   
The lightning nearly snatches their sight, whenever it lights the path they walk in it, and when it becomes dark for them they stand. Had God willed, He would have taken their hearing and their sight; God is capable of all things.
Mohammad Shafi   
The lightning almost snatches their sights away! Whenever it flashes for them, they move forward in its light, and, when darkness falls on them, they stop. And, had Allah so willed, He could indeed have taken away their hearing and their sights. Allah certainly has power over everything

Controversial or status undetermined works
Ahmed Raza Khan (Barelvi)   
It so seems that the lightning, would snatch away the, sights whenever there is some flashing they walk therein and when it is dark, they stand still, and if Allah willed He would have taken away their ears and sights, surely Allah can do everything.
Rashad Khalifa   
The lightning almost snatches away their eyesight. When it lights for them, they move forward, and when it turns dark, they stand still. If GOD wills, He can take away their hearing and their eyesight. GOD is Omnipotent.
Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight, whenever it flashes upon them they walk on, but as soon as it darkens they stand still. Indeed, if Allah willed, He could take away their sight and hearing. Allah has power over all things
Maulana Muhammad Ali   
The lightening almost takes away their sight. Whenever it shines on them they walk in it, and when it becomes dark to them they stand still. And if Allah has pleased, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things
Muhammad Ahmed & Samira   
The lightning almost snatches their eye sights , whenever (it) lit for them they walked in it, and if (it) darkened on them they stood and if God willed/wanted, He would have gone/taken away with their hearing/sense of hearing , and their sights/understanding , that God (is) on every thing capable/powerful
Bijan Moeinian   
The lightening makes them almost blind but provides them with a few second of insight so that they take a few steps forward. If God decides to deprive them even of this favor (a few second of light), he can make them completely deaf and blind as he is capable of doing anything that he wishes
Faridul Haque   
It seems the lightning may snatch away their sight from them; whenever it flashes they walk in it, and when it darkens they stand still; if Allah willed, He could take away their hearing and their sight; indeed Allah is Able to do all things
Sher Ali   
The lightning might well nigh snatch away their sight; whenever it shines upon them, they walk therein; and when it becomes dark to them, they stand still. And if ALLAH had so willed HE could take away their hearing and their sight; surely ALLAH has the power to do all that HE wills
Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri   
It seems as if the lightning would snatch away their sight. When their (surroundings) are lit with a flash, they start walking, and when darkness covers them, they stand still. And if Allah had willed, He would have completely deprived them of hearing and sight. Surely, Allah is All-Powerful to do everything
Amatul Rahman Omar   
The lightning (being so intensely dazzling) may well-nigh snatch away their sight. As often as it flashes for them they walk (a few steps) in it (- its light), and when it darkens against them they come to a halt. Indeed, if Allah had so willed He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Allah is indeed Possessor of power to do all that He will
Muhsin Khan & Muhammad al-Hilali   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight, whenever it flashes for them, they walk therein, and when darkness covers them, they stand still. And if Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Certainly, Allah has power over all things

Non-Muslim and/or Orientalist works
Arthur John Arberry   
the lightning wellnigh snatches away their sight; whensoever it gives them light, they walk in it, and when the darkness is over them, they halt; had God willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their sight. Truly, God is powerful over everything
George Sale   
the lightning wanteth but little of taking away their sight; so often as it enlighteneth them, they walk therein, but when darkness cometh on them, they stand still; and if God so pleased, he would certainly deprive them of their hearing and their sight, for God is almighty
Edward Henry Palmer   
The lightning well-nigh snatches off their sight, whenever it shines for them they walk therein; but when it is dark for them they halt; and if God willed He would go off with their hearing and their sight; verily, God is mighty over all
John Medows Rodwell   
The lightning almost snatcheth away their eyes! So oft as it gleameth on them they walk on in it, but when darkness closeth upon them, they stop! And if God pleased, of their ears and of their eyes would he surely deprive them: verily God is Almighty
N J Dawood (2014)   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight: whenever it flashes upon them they walk on, but as soon as it darkens they stand still. Indeed, if God pleased, He could take away their hearing and their sight: God has power over all things.

New, Partial, or In Progress Translations
Fode Drame   
The lightning almost snatches away their sights. Whenever He makes it bright for them, they walk in it [in the brightness] but when He turns it dark on them, they stand still. And had Allah so pleased, He would have surely taken away their hearing and their sights. Truly Allah has power over everything.
Munir Mezyed   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight. And whenever it shines for them, they walk therein. But when darkness falls upon them, they stand still. And had Allâh willed, He would surely have taken away their hearing and sight. Most surely, Allâh is Most Capable of doing whatsoever He desires.
Sahib Mustaqim Bleher   
The lightning almost takes away their eyesight; whenever it lights up for them, they walk with it, and when it becomes dark for them, they stop. If Allah wished, He would have taken away their hearing and their eyesight. Allah has the power to do anything.
Fadel Soliman, Bridges‘ Translation   
The lightning almost snatches their sight(s) away; whenever it illuminates for them, they walk in it. But when it darkens over them, they stand (still). And had Allah willed, He could have done away with their hearing and their sight(s). Indeed, Allah is All-Powerful over everything.
Linda “iLHam” Barto   
The lightning nearly blinds them! Every time the light helps, they take a step, but when it gets dark again, they stand still. If Allah so willed, He could get rid of their senses of hearing and seeing, for Allah has power over all things.
Irving & Mohamed Hegab   
Lightning almost snatches their sight away: each time it lights things up for them, they walk along in it, while when darkness settles down on them, they stand stock still. If Allah (God) wanted, He would take away their hearing and eyesight; Allah (God) is capable of everything!
Samy Mahdy   
The lightning almost snatches their vision. Whenever it illuminates, for them they walk in it; and if it darkens over them, they stand. And if Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their vision, surely Allah is over everything competent.
Sayyid Qutb   
The lightning all but snatches away their sight; whenever it flashes over them they walk on, but when darkness overtakes them they stand still. Should God will it, He would take away their hearing and their sight, for God has power over all things.
Thomas Cleary   
The lightening nearly dazzles their eyes. Every time is shines on them, they walk theirin; and when it grows dark overy them, they stand still. And if God willed, God would have taken away their hearing and their seeing. For God has power over everything
Thomas Cleary   
The lightning nearly takes away their vision. Every time it sheds light for them, they walk in it; and when it grows dark upon them, they stand still. And if God willed, God could remove their hearing and their seeing: for God has power over all things.
Ahmed Hulusi   
The lightning (the light of the reality) almost seizes their sight (their perception based on what they see). Every time it lights (the way) for them, they progress a few steps with the light of the reality; but when the light is gone they are left in darkness. And if Allah had willed, He would have lessened the manifestation of His Names Sami and Basir on them. Indeed, Allah is Qadir over all things.
Sayyed Abbas Sadr-Ameli   
The lightning well-nigh snatches away their sight, whensoever it gives them light, they walk therein, and when it darkens over them they stand still. Had Allah willed, He would have taken away their hearing and their ight. Truly, Allah is All-powerful over all things
Al-muntakhab fi tafsir al-Qur‘an al-Karim   
Lightning very nearly snatches their sense of sight; as often as it emits for them gleams they proceed under its light and when it darkens, their eyes shrivel into darkness in their heads and they stand dead; and had Allah willed He would have deprived them of their sense of hearing and that of sight, faculties divine; He is indeed Qadirun (Omnipotent) to effect all things
Mir Aneesuddin   
The lightning almost snatches away their sight, whenever it shines on them they walk therein, and when it darkens over them they stand still. And had Allah willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight, Allah certainly has power over everything.
The Ascendant Qur‘an, Muhammad H. al-‘Asi   
The lightning well-nigh takes away their sight; whenever it gives them light they walk therein, and whenever the light is out, they stand still. And if Allah so willed, He could take away their hearing and their sight: for, truly, Allah has power over all thing

Obsolete and/or older editions
Yusuf Ali (Orig. 1938)   
The lightning all but snatches away their sight; every time the light (Helps) them, they walk therein, and when the darkness grows on them, they stand still. And if God willed, He could take away their faculty of hearing and seeing; for God hat h power over all things
OLD Literal Word for Word   
Almost the lightning snatches away their sight. Whenever it flashes for them they walk in it, and when it darkens on them they stand (still). And if had willed Allah, He would certainly have taken their hearing, and their sight. Indeed, Allah (is) on every thing All-Powerful
OLD Transliteration   
Yakadu albarqu yakhtafu absarahum kullama adaa lahum mashaw feehi wa-itha athlama AAalayhim qamoo walaw shaa Allahu lathahaba bisamAAihim waabsarihim inna Allaha AAala kulli shay-in qadeerun