In the light of the componential analysis theory and Catford's (1965) translation shift theory, this study aims to investigate the noun qatl ‫ل‬ ْ ‫َت‬ ‫ق‬ in three English translations of the Holy Qur'an, namely, Abdel Haleem's translation ( 2004), Marmaduke Pickthall's translation (1930), and the translation of Yusuf 'Ali (2001). The researcher has decomposed the lexemes of the source text and the three target texts into their possible semantic components, and has traced the translation shifts in the three respective translations. From various war terms, the noun qatl has been selected because of its diverse morphological occurrences and their obvious translation challenges. The three translators have been chosen from different origins in order that their distinct linguistic awareness of both the source and the target languages would be taken into consideration when analyzing their suggested translations. The study has depended on a theoretical framework of analysis that can be applied to other war terms, whether nouns or verbs, in the Holy Qur'an.