Li-qawlihi: that is, the statement of Allah, exalted be He.

Ka-annahu: meaning the sound that is heard.

Ṣafwān: a smooth, polished stone.

Yanfuḏuhum dhālika: this utterance penetrates the angels and passes through them.

Fayasmaʿuhā: i.e., the single word that Allah has decreed.

Mustariq al-samʿ: the one who snatches the angels’ words—namely, the devil.

Waṣfuhu: the description of how the devils mount one upon another until they reach the height from which they can overhear the angels discussing what Allah is decreeing.

Faḥarrafahā: he tilted his hand.

Wa-baddada bayna aṣābiʿihi: he spread his fingers apart.

Al-sāḥir: the practitioner of sorcery, which is something hidden and subtle, such as tying knots, reciting charms, and the like.

Al-kāhin: the one who claims knowledge of future events and of unseen secrets.

Adrakahū al-shihāb: the flaming star catches the eavesdropper before he can cast the word down and burns him.

Fayakḏhib: meaning the sorcerer or the soothsayer fabricates lies.

Maʿahā: together with the word that he has carried.

Overall meaning of the hadith: The Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—describes how the angels revere Allah’s speech, the fear that overtakes them, their asking one another what their Lord has said, and how the devils snatch fragments of that speech