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except him who snatches a fragment (al-khatfa is the verbal noun, that is to say, '[that] one time'; the exceptive clause refers to the subject [of the verb] yasma'ūna, in other words, 'the only devil that is able to listen is the one that hears a word from the angels and snatches it away quickly') and who is then pursued by a piercing flame (shihāb is a meteor) that pierces him, or burns him or robs him of his senses.