The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
صِرَٰطَ
(The path…)
Root صرط — path, way · 45 times in the Quran
صِرَٰطَword 1
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. صِرَٰطَ names a thing — the path — from the root صرط: path, way. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes when an action lands on it, marked by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke written above the final letter. صِرَٰطَ ends with exactly that fathah ـَ, wearing the same ending as the path it restates — the path the guiding is asked to land on: 'guide us to the straight path… the path of those…'. L2 · R11
Apposition (Badal) · بدلAn apposition is a second noun (naming word) that renames the one before it to make it clearer, matching it in case ending. صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ restates and defines ٱلصِّرَٰطَ ٱلْمُسْتَقِيمَ — 'the straight path, that is, the path of those You favored' — and both carry the accusative fathah ـَ (a small slanted stroke above the letter). L7 · R4
This phrase defines the straight path just prayed for: the way of those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
ٱلَّذِينَ
(…of those…)
ٱلَّذِينَword 2
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'who' or 'those who' that hooks a whole describing sentence onto something specific. ٱلَّذِينَ is the form for a group of people — 'those who' — and the statement that follows ('You have bestowed favor upon them') tells us exactly who they are. L5 · R13
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic says 'of' by chaining two naming words directly together: صِرَٰطَ ٱلَّذِينَ reads 'path — of those'. ٱلَّذِينَ fills the owner slot, the second position of the chain, the position that carries the genitive — the after-'of' ending — though this word is one of the fixed-shape words whose ending never changes to show it. L5 · R5
'Those upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace' are those named in Surat An-Nisa': the Prophets, the ever-truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous — 'and how excellent these companions are.'
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
أَنْعَمْتَ
(…You have bestowed favor…)
Root نعم — to bestow favor, blessing; cattle, livestock; excellent · 140 times in the Quran
أَنْعَمْتَword 3
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. أَنْعَمْتَ speaks of an action already carried out — 'You have bestowed favor' — from the root نعم: to bestow favor, blessing. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb describes an action already completed, and it is recognized by who-did-it endings added to the verb's tail. Here the ending تَ ('you') is fastened to أَنْعَمْ: 'You bestowed favor' — a favor already granted. L8 · R1
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَArabic stamps roots into fixed patterns, and a hamzah أَ standing at the front of the three root letters is the fingerprint of the pattern that means causing or granting the action. On the root نعم — favor, blessing — it yields 'to bestow favor upon': أَنْعَمْتَ, You granted blessing. L12 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'I / you / he' glued onto the end of another word, and each pronoun carries within it exactly who is meant. The تَ fastened to this verb's end is the pronoun 'You' — one person, addressed directly — and like all pronouns its shape never changes. L3 · R1
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action in a sentence that opens with its verb (its action-word). The doer need not be a separate word — it can be a pronoun ending fastened to the verb itself, and the تَ on أَنْعَمْتَ is exactly that: 'You' are the One who bestowed. L9 · R4
When mentioning His favor, Allah names Himself as its giver — 'You have bestowed' — while the anger, mentioned next, arrives with no doer named: the bounties are ascribed to Allah, the deviations are not.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
عَلَيْهِمْ
(…upon them,)
عَلَيْهِمْword 4
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word of one to three letters that works like glue — it connects or adjusts other words rather than naming something or describing an action. عَلَيْ ('upon') is such a connector, tying the bestowing to the ones who received it. L1 · R9
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another, and عَلَىٰ means 'on' or 'upon'. It aims the favor at its recipients: bestowed — upon them. L4 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'me / us / them' glued onto the end of another word, and ـهِمْ is the attached form meaning 'them' — a group of people. Fastened to the little word 'upon', it reads: upon-them. L3 · R7
So far: “The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor,”
غَيْرِ
(…not…)
Root غير — other than, different from; to change, alter · 154 times in the Quran
غَيْرِword 5
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the changing final vowel marks — the ḍammah ـُ (a small curl above the letter), the fathah ـَ (a small stroke above), the kasrah ـِ (a small stroke below) — is a noun, a naming word. غَيْرِ takes such endings, and it means 'other than': not of those. L1 · R5
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes after a preposition or as the owner in an 'of' phrase, marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. غَيْرِ ends with that kasrah ـِ because it restates 'those' in 'the path of those…', which sits in the genitive owner slot of that 'of' phrase. L2 · R12
Apposition (Badal) · بدلAn apposition is a second noun (naming word) that follows to clarify the one before it, matching its case ending. غَيْرِ ('other than') restates 'those You favored' by exclusion — the favored ones, not those under anger — and carries the matching genitive kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter). L7 · R4
ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ
(…of those who have earned [Your] anger…)
Root غضب — to be angry, anger, wrath · 24 times in the Quran
ٱلْمَغْضُوبِword 6
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱلْ at the front of a noun (a naming word) means 'the' — one specific, known group. Here it marks a known company: the ones the anger fell upon. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ال ('the') is a noun — a word that names a person, thing, or group. This word carries that prefix and names those under anger, from the root غضب: anger, wrath. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word has no feminine marker such as a ة, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes as the owner in an 'of' phrase, marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. 'Other than' and 'those under anger' form such a pair — 'other than those under anger' — and as its second word, ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L2 · R12
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic chains two naming words directly together to say 'of': غَيْرِ ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ reads 'other — than those under anger'. The second word of such a chain always stands in the genitive — the after-'of' ending, the kasrah ـِ (a small slanted stroke below the letter) — and is typically definite, and this one carries the definite prefix ٱلْ ('the'). L5 · R5
Passive Participle · اسم مفعولA passive participle is a noun built from a root's letters on the mold مَفْعُول to name the one an action was done to. مَغْضُوبِ sits on exactly that mold, from the root غضب — anger, wrath — naming those the anger has fallen upon, without saying who sent it. L11 · R2
Those who earned the anger are those who knew the truth yet deviated from it — the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Those who have earned the anger are the Jews'; and the anger is mentioned without naming its sender, though it is He who sent it down upon them.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
عَلَيْهِمْ
(…upon themselves,)
عَلَيْهِمْword 7
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word of one to three letters that works like glue — it connects or adjusts other words rather than naming something or describing an action. عَلَيْ ('upon') is such a connector, telling where the anger landed. L1 · R9
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another, and عَلَىٰ means 'on' or 'upon'. It points the anger at those who earned it: anger — upon them. L4 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'me / us / them' glued onto the end of another word, and ـهِمْ is the attached form meaning 'them' — a group of people. Fastened to the little word 'upon', it reads: upon-them. L3 · R7
So far: “The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger”
وَلَا
(…or…)
وَلَاword 8
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ is a conjunction — a small joining word meaning 'and' — that links a second group to the first; the word it joins in must carry the same ending as its partner before the joint. Here it adds a second excluded company: not those under anger, and not those astray. L4 · R4
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word of one to three letters that works like glue — it connects or adjusts other words rather than naming something or describing an action. لَا is two letters of pure adjustment: it flips what follows into 'not'. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word meaning 'not' that turns a statement into its opposite, and لَا is the 'not' used for general statements. Here it denies the second group any share of the path: nor of those who go astray. L4 · R5
By repeating the negation, Allah asserts that both ways — that of those under anger and that of those astray — are equally misguided paths the believer must beware of and avoid.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
ٱلضَّآلِّينَ
(…of those who are astray.)
Root ضلل — to err, go astray, be lost · 191 times in the Quran
ٱلضَّآلِّينَword 9
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word) means 'the' — one specific, known group. Because the next letter ض is one of the fourteen 'solar' letters — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself — the ل of the prefix melts into it and the ض is doubled, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلضَّآلِّينَ, aḍ-ḍāllīn. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ال ('the') is a noun — a word that names a person, thing, or group. This word carries that prefix and names those who go astray, from the root ضلل: to err, to go astray, to be lost. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word has no feminine marker such as a ة, so it takes the default and is a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more of something. One regular plural, the 'sound' masculine plural, announces itself with the ending ـِينَ — and ضَّآلِّينَ closes with exactly ـِينَ: a whole company of people gone astray. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes after a preposition or as the owner in an 'of' phrase — and a plural ending in ـِينَ carries its genitive inside that same ـِينَ ending rather than in a kasrah ـِ (the small slanted stroke below a letter that usually marks it). ٱلضَّآلِّينَ wears that shared ending because 'and not' joins it to ٱلْمَغْضُوبِ ('those under anger'), which stands in the genitive owner slot of its 'of' phrase. L2 · R7
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a noun built from a root's letters on the mold فَاعِل to name the doer of the action. ضَّآلِّينَ is that mold in plural form, from the root ضلل — to err, to go astray — naming those who themselves go astray; the shaddah ـّ (a small w-shaped doubling mark above the letter) shows the root's doubled final letter. L11 · R1
Those astray are those who lost true knowledge and wander in misguidance, unable to find the correct path — the Prophet ﷺ said, 'Those who are led astray are the Christians'; the believer asks to avoid both ways.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 1:7
So far: “The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have earned [Your] anger or of those who are astray.”