Sam Gerrans - The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

And they could not pass over it, and they could not pierce it.

فَمَا اسْطَاعُٓوا اَنْ يَظْهَرُوهُ وَمَا اسْتَطَاعُوا لَهُ نَقْباً
Fama istaAAoo an yathharoohuwama istataAAoo lahu naqba
#wordmeaningroot
1famāSo not
2is'ṭāʿūthey were ableطوع
3anto
4yaẓharūhuscale itظهر
5wamāand not
6is'taṭāʿūthey were ableطوع
7lahuin it
8naqban(to do) any penetrationنقب
  • Aisha Bewley

    They were, therefore, unable to climb over it nor were they able to make a breach in it.

  • Progressive Muslims

    So they could not come over it, and they could not make a hole in it.

  • Shabbir Ahmed

    Thus they (Gog and Magog) could not climb it, nor could they bore holes in it.

  • Sam Gerrans The Qur'an: A Complete Revelation

    And they could not pass over it, and they could not pierce it.

  • The Monotheist Group The Quran: A Monotheist Translation

    So they could not come over it, and they could not make a hole in it.

  • Edip-Layth Quran: A Reformist Translation

    So they could not come over it, and they could not make a hole in it.

  • Rashad Khalifa The Final Testament

    Thus, they could not climb it, nor could they bore holes in it.

  • Mohamed Ahmed - Samira

    Thus (Gog and Magog) could neither climb over it nor dig a hole through (the rampart).

  • Sahih International (Umm Muhammad, Mary Kennedy, Amatullah Bantley)

    So Gog and Magog were unable to pass over it, nor were they able in it any penetration.

  • Muhammad Asad

    And thus their enemies were unable to scale it, and neither were they able to pierce it.

  • Marmaduke Pickthall

    And (Gog and Magog) were not able to surmount, nor could they pierce (it).

  • Abul A'la Maududi Tafhim commentary

    Such was the rampart that Gog and Magog could not scale, nor could they pierce it.

  • Abdel Khalek Himmat Al- Muntakhab

    "In consequence, they -the tribes- could not escalade it nor were they able to make their way through it by digging",

  • Bijan Moeinian

    …. Thus he built a dam (as a barrier between the two parties involved) that they could neither climb it nor make a hole in it.

  • Al-Hilali & Khan

    So they could not scale it or dig through it.

  • Abdullah Yusuf Ali

    Thus were they made powerless to scale it or to dig through it.

  • Mustafa Khattab The Clear Quran

    And so the enemies could neither scale nor tunnel through it.

  • Taqi Usmani

    So they (Ya’jūj and Ma’jūj) were not able to climb it, nor were they able to make a hole in it.

  • Abdul Haleem

    Their enemies could not scale the barrier, nor could they pierce it,

  • Arthur John Arberry

    So they were unable either to scale it or pierce it.

  • E. Henry Palmer

    So they could not scale it, and they could not tunnel it.

  • Hamid S. Aziz

    "Bring me blocks of iron. When they had filled up the space between the two mountain-sides, he said, "Blow (with your bellows)". When he had made it red with fire, he said, "Bring me, that I may pour over it, molten lead."

  • Mahmoud Ghali

    So, in no way were they able to surmount it, and in no way were they able to bore it.

  • George Sale

    Wherefore, when this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it, neither could they dig through it.

  • Syed Vickar Ahamed

    Thus they (Gog and Magog) were made helpless to climb it (the wall) or to dig through it.

  • Amatul Rahman Omar

    So (there was built the rampart which) they (- Gog and Magog) could neither scale nor they had the strength to cause a breach through it.

  • Ali Quli Qarai

    So they could neither scale it, nor could they make a hole in it.