And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَإِذَا
(And when)
وَإِذَاword 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَإِذَا is a conjunction — a small joining word meaning 'and' — linking what follows to what came before; the word it joins in must stand in the same grammatical case as its partner before the joint — the same role in the sentence, even when the two words write that case with different endings. L4 · R4
Time Adverb · ظرف زمانA time adverb is a naming word that pins a sentence to the moment its action happens. إِذَا means 'when', and it fixes what follows to the time it occurs: 'and when it is said to them…'. L16 · R7
قِيلَ لَهُمْ
(…it is said to them,)
Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran
قِيلَword 2
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. قِيلَ speaks of an action already carried out: 'it is said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past-tense verb describes an action already completed. Its plain base shape — the shape Arabic uses for a single 'he' — carries no who-ending glued to its tail, and قِيلَ is exactly that bare base: 'it is said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L8 · R1
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is a verb that carries و or ي — the 'weak' letters, which love to soften into long vowels or vanish — among its root letters. The root of قِيلَ is قول: to say, speak, tell — and its middle letter is the weak و, so the weakness sits in the middle of the root. L24 · R4
Passive Voice · المبني للمجهولA passive voice verb hides who did the action by reshaping its inner vowels: the doer is dropped and only the deed remains. In this hollow verb the reshaped vowels melt into a long 'ī', so قِيلَ opens with a kasrah ـِ — a small stroke below its first letter — giving 'it is said' without naming who said it. L11 · R4
لَهُمْword 3
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لَ at the front of لَهُمْ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'to/for' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the word that follows it into the genitive relationship — the 'of / in / with' role a word plays after such a little helper — though not every word shows that role with the same visible ending. L4 · R1
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA pronoun is a mini-word standing in for a name, here هُمْ 'them'. Glued after the preposition لَ, it names those the words are addressed to: 'to them'. L3 · R7
The hypocrites are told to believe just as the believers believe — in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Resurrection — and to obey Allah and His Messenger.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:13
ءَامِنُوا۟
(…"Believe)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
ءَامِنُوا۟word 4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. ءَامِنُ is a command: 'Believe', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a command telling 'you' to do something. ءَامِنُوا۟ is such a command spoken to a group of men, 'Believe!' — the ending وا۟ points the order at 'you all'. L10 · R1
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) as one of its root letters, and that hamza can shift its written seat. Built from the root امن, ءَامِنُوا۟ opens with that hamza, keeping this root among the hamzated kind. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters — often giving the sense of making or causing the action — and the command shape keeps that added hamza. ءَامِنُ carries it at its front: 'Believe', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L12 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'I / you / he' that cannot stand alone — it is glued onto the end of another word, and each form carries within it exactly who is meant. وا۟ · 'you all/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — ءَامِنُوا۟ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The ending وا۟ on ءَامِنُوا۟ is that doer, 'you all'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ
(…as the people have believed,")
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
Root نوس — men, people · 241 times in the Quran
كَمَآword 5
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix كَ at the front of كَمَآ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'like/as' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the word that follows it into the genitive relationship — the 'of / in / with' role a word plays after such a little helper — though not every word shows that role with the same visible ending. L4 · R1
Maṣdar Particle · حرف مصدريA maṣdar particle turns the verb after it into an action-idea, so 'as they believed' reads like 'as their believing'. مَآ here does that work after كَ: 'as the believing of the people'. L20 · R15
ءَامَنَword 6
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. ءَامَنَ speaks of an action already carried out: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past-tense verb describes an action already completed. Its plain base shape — the shape Arabic uses for a single 'he' — carries no who-ending glued to its tail, and ءَامَنَ is exactly that bare base: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L8 · R1
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) among its root letters. Built from the root امن, ءَامَنَ opens with that hamza, keeping it among the hamzated kind. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters — the way سَلِمَ 'was safe' becomes أَسْلَمَ 'submitted' — often giving the sense of making or causing the action. ءَامَنَ carries that added hamza at its front: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L12 · R5
ٱلنَّاسُword 7
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter, ن, is one of the fourteen 'sun-letters' — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — the ل of the prefix melts into it and doubles it, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلنَّاسُ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. نَّاسُ names such a thing: 'the people', from the root نوس: men, people. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ٱلنَّاسُ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more. ٱلنَّاسُ names not one person but the whole body of people, a group beyond counting two. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes when it is the one doing the action, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. ٱلنَّاسُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ, marking 'the people' as the doers of the believing. L2 · R10
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, and it stands in the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ above the last letter. ٱلنَّاسُ carries that ḍammah ـُ and is the one doing the believing: 'the people have believed'. L9 · R2
The fools they mean are the Companions of the Messenger of Allah; the hypocrites hold themselves and the believers to be of the same status, following the same path, while they take the believers to be fools.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:13
So far: “And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed,"”
قَالُوٓا۟
(…they say,)
Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran
قَالُوٓا۟word 8
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. قَالُ speaks of an action already carried out: 'they say', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past-tense verb describes an action already completed — and it shows who by a small ending fastened to the verb's tail. On قَالُوٓا۟ that ending is وٓا۟, telling exactly who is meant: 'they say', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L8 · R2
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is a verb that carries و or ي — the 'weak' letters, which love to soften into long vowels or vanish — among its root letters. The root of قَالُ is قول: to say, speak, tell — and its middle letter is the weak و, so the weakness sits in the middle of the root. L24 · R4
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'I / you / he' that cannot stand alone — it is glued onto the end of another word, and each form carries within it exactly who is meant. وٓا۟ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — قَالُوٓا۟ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The ending وٓا۟ on قَالُوٓا۟ is that doer, 'they'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
أَنُؤْمِنُ
(…"Should we believe)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
أَنُؤْمِنُword 9
Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative particle turns a statement into a question, the way English adds 'Should…?'. The prefix أَ on أَنُؤْمِنُ throws the following words into a question: 'Should we believe?'. L17 · R1
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. نُؤْمِنُ is an action unfolding now: 'Should we believe', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb describes ongoing or coming action and always opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. نُؤْمِنُ opens with نُ, marking 'we': 'we believe'. L8 · R3
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) among its root letters. Built from the root امن, نُؤْمِنُ carries that hamza written as ؤ in its middle, keeping it among the hamzated kind. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters; in the present tense this form announces itself instead by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the letter — sitting on the verb's opening prefix letter. نُؤْمِنُ carries exactly that ḍammah ـُ on its opening letter: 'Should we believe', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L12 · R7
كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗ
(…as the foolish have believed?")
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
Root سفه — to be unwise, stupid, foolish · 11 times in the Quran
كَمَآword 10
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix كَ at the front of كَمَآ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'like/as' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the word that follows it into the genitive relationship — the 'of / in / with' role a word plays after such a little helper — though not every word shows that role with the same visible ending. L4 · R1
Maṣdar Particle · حرف مصدريA maṣdar particle turns the verb after it into an action-idea, so 'as they believed' reads like 'as their believing'. مَآ does that work after كَ: 'as the believing of the foolish'. L20 · R15
ءَامَنَword 11
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. ءَامَنَ speaks of an action already carried out: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past-tense verb describes an action already completed. Its plain base shape — the shape Arabic uses for a single 'he' — carries no who-ending glued to its tail, and ءَامَنَ is exactly that bare base: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L8 · R1
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) among its root letters. Built from the root امن, ءَامَنَ opens with that hamza, keeping it among the hamzated kind. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters — the way سَلِمَ 'was safe' becomes أَسْلَمَ 'submitted' — often giving the sense of making or causing the action. ءَامَنَ carries that added hamza at its front: 'believed', from the root امن: to believe, faith, security, trust. L12 · R5
ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗword 12
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter, س, is one of the fourteen 'sun-letters' — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — the ل of the prefix melts into it and doubles it, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱل ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names a group, 'the foolish', from the root سفه, to be foolish. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it falls to the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ names many foolish ones, its inner shape reshaped from the singular into this 'broken' plural rather than by a simple ending. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes when it is the one doing the action, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ, marking 'the foolish' as the doers of the believing named here. L2 · R10
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, and it stands in the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ above the last letter. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ carries that ḍammah ـُ and is the one doing the believing: 'as the foolish have believed'. L9 · R2
'The fool' is the ignorant, simple-minded person with little knowledge of what benefits or harms; by scorning the believers as fools, the hypocrites reveal that it is they themselves who lack that knowledge.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:13
So far: “And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?"”
أَلَآ
(…Unquestionably,)
أَلَآword 13
Attention Particle (أَلَا) · حرف تنبيهAn attention particle opens a sentence purely to seize the listener's notice before an important statement. أَلَآ throws the door open before the truth about the hypocrites is stated: it is they who are the foolish. L20 · R19
إِنَّهُمْ
(…it is they)
إِنَّهُمْword 14
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلإِنَّ means 'indeed' and carries the doubling shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped mark that doubles its ن. It pushes its own topic into the accusative — the ending usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter — while the comment about that topic stays in the nominative, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. Here its topic is the attached هُمْ 'they', taken as its accusative subject; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no fathah appears, but the role it fills is the accusative one: 'indeed they…'. L15 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هُمْ on إِنَّهُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the topic that إِنَّ takes as its subject. L3 · R6
هُمُ
(…who)
هُمُword 15
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA detached pronoun is a standalone word for 'they', 'you', 'I', and the like. هُمُ is the standalone word 'they', placed between 'indeed they' and 'the foolish' to fasten the two together. L3 · R2
Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is a naming word a sentence talks about — its topic — and it stands in the nominative, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. هُمُ 'they' stands as this topic; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one, and what follows, 'the foolish', is what is said about them. L6 · R2
ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ
(…are the foolish,)
Root سفه — to be unwise, stupid, foolish · 11 times in the Quran
ٱلسُّفَهَآءُword 16
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter, س, is one of the fourteen 'sun-letters' — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — the ل of the prefix melts into it and doubles it, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped doubling mark written above the letter: ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱل ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names a group, 'the foolish', from the root سفه, to be foolish. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it falls to the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ names many foolish ones, its inner shape reshaped from the singular into this 'broken' plural rather than by a simple ending. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes when it completes what is said about the topic, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ in its own right, as the comment about 'they': they are the foolish. L2 · R10
Predicate (Khabar) · خبرThe predicate is the part that tells you something about the topic, and it stands in the nominative, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The topic was هُمُ 'they'; ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ, carrying that ḍammah ـُ, is what is said about them — the foolish. L6 · R3
Allah affirms that it is the hypocrites who are truly the fools, since they are unaware of their own deviation and ignorance — a state more dangerous and further from the truth than that of one who knows.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:13
So far: “And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish,”
وَلَـٰكِن
(…but)
وَلَـٰكِنword 17
Supplementary Particle · حرف زائدA supplementary particle is an extra word added for weight, whose removal would not change the core meaning. The prefix وَ here rides along with 'but', adding to the flow without altering the sense. L14 · R4
Retraction Particle (بَلْ / لَٰكِن) · حرف إضراب واستدراكA retraction particle like لَٰكِن 'but' adjusts or qualifies what was just said, steering the sentence in a new direction. Here لَٰكِن turns from stating that they are the foolish to noting what they fail to grasp: 'but they know it not'. L20 · R18
لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
(…they know [it] not.)
Root علم — to know, knowledge · 854 times in the Quran
لَّاword 18
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, and it can never be the one a sentence is about. لَّا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word meaning 'not'. لَّا negates the present-tense verb after it: 'they do not know'. L4 · R5
يَعْلَمُونَword 19
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يَعْلَمُ is an action unfolding now: 'they know', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb describes an action happening now or still to come, and it is recognized by its opening letter — one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت. يَعْلَمُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'they know', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. يَعْلَمُونَ is one of them: its ending ونَ keeps that closing ن, and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary mood. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'I / you / he' that cannot stand alone — it is glued onto the end of another word, and each form carries within it exactly who is meant. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يَعْلَمُونَ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The ونَ ending on يَعْلَمُونَ is that doer, 'they'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one — they are the ones who do not know. L9 · R4
Because the hypocrites are so thoroughly ignorant, they are unaware of their own degree of deviation — a more dangerous and severer blindness than that of one who is aware.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:13
So far: “And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.”