O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ
(O mankind,)
Root نوس — men, people · 241 times in the Quran
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَاword 1
Vocative Particle · حرف نداءA vocative particle is a calling word like يَا 'O!' placed before a noun to address someone directly. The prefix يَٰٓ here opens the call to all people: 'O mankind'. L4 · R8
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word. أَيُّهَا is the bridge word that stands after يَا when calling a specific, 'the'-marked group, leading into 'mankind'. L1 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. أَيُّهَا, the word being called, is held in that nominative role, ending in the ḍammah ـُ on its يُّ. L2 · R10
Vocative · المُنَادَىThe vocative is the one being called after يَا 'O!'. أَيُّهَا is that called word, the bridge to 'mankind' in the standard address 'O mankind'. L21 · R4
ٱلنَّاسُword 2
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل ('the') fixed to the front of a noun to mark a specific, known group. Here it marks نَّاسُ as 'mankind', all the people called. 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, 'mankind'. 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. ٱلنَّاسُ names not one person but the whole body of people. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. ٱلنَّاسُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ, matching the called word أَيُّهَا it renames. L2 · R10
Apposition (Badal) · بدلApposition is a second noun that renames the one before it to make it clearer, matching it in case. أَيُّهَا was the called word; ٱلنَّاسُ renames it — both nominative, ending in the ḍammah ـُ — telling exactly who is called: mankind. L7 · R4
Allah calls mankind to His Oneness in divinity, having favored His servants by bringing them to life and surrounding them with blessings, both hidden and apparent.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:21
ٱعْبُدُوا۟ رَبَّكُمُ
(…worship your Lord,)
Root عبد — to worship, serve; servant, slave · 275 times in the Quran
Root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector · 980 times in the Quran
ٱعْبُدُوا۟word 3
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. ٱعْبُدُوا۟ names an action — worshipping — from the root عبد, to worship or serve. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a command telling 'you' to do something. ٱعْبُدُوا۟ is such a command spoken to a group, 'Worship!' — the ending وا۟ points the order at 'you all'. L10 · R1
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending وا۟ on ٱعْبُدُوا۟ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all' — those commanded to worship. 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 ٱعْبُدُوا۟ 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
رَبَّكُمُword 4
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person or being. رَبَّ names 'Lord' — the Sustainer — from the root ربب, Lord and Nourisher. L1 · R6
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
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending a naming word takes when the action lands on it, usually shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the last letter. رَبَّ ends in that fathah ـَ, marking your Lord as the One to be worshipped. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, and it takes the accusative — the ending shown by a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the last letter. رَبَّ carries that fathah ـَ and is the One worshipped — your Lord. L9 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'your' glued onto the end of a noun. The ending كُمُ on رَبَّكُمُ stands for 'your (all)', naming whose Lord He is. L3 · R6
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains an owner onto the thing owned, and the owner carries the genitive — the owner's ending, usually shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke below the last letter. The ending كُمُ 'your' is that owner glued onto رَبَّ; a pronoun like كُمُ keeps its fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears on it — the genitive is the role its owner slot carries: 'your Lord'. L5 · R5
Allah is the Creator, Sustainer, Owner, and Provider of this life and all that is in it; hence He alone deserves to be worshipped, and nothing is to be associated with Him.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:21
ٱلَّذِى خَلَقَكُمْ
(…who created you)
Root خلق — to create, bring into being, creation · 261 times in the Quran
ٱلَّذِىword 5
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'who' that hooks a whole describing sentence onto a noun. ٱلَّذِى means 'who', and what follows — 'created you' — describes your Lord. L5 · R13
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that follows its noun. ٱلَّذِى 'who…' comes after 'your Lord' and describes Him: your Lord, the One who created you. L7 · R1
خَلَقَكُمْword 6
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. خَلَقَ names an action — creating — from the root خلق, to create or bring into being. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb describes a completed action, its base form (a single 'He' doer) carrying no prefix. خَلَقَ names such an act: 'He created'. L8 · R1
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending كُمْ on خَلَقَكُمْ stands for 'you all' — those He created. L3 · R6
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, and it takes the accusative — the ending usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the last letter. The ending كُمْ on this verb is that object, 'you all'; being a fixed-shape pronoun it shows no fathah, but the role it fills is that accusative one. L9 · R5
وَٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ
(…and those before you,)
Root قبل — to be before, accept; direction faced · 294 times in the Quran
وَٱلَّذِينَword 7
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word like 'and' that ties one part of speech to another. The prefix وَ here joins 'those before you' to 'you' as another group He created. L4 · R4
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'those who' that hooks a describing sense onto a group. ٱلَّذِينَ means 'those', and 'before you' after it tells which ones: those who came before. L5 · R13
مِنword 8
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. مِن is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little word that relates one thing to another and pulls the noun right after it into the genitive — the ending for a noun after a preposition, usually shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. مِن 'from' does that here: 'from before you'. L4 · R1
قَبْلِكُمْword 9
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a thing, including a time. قَبْلِ means 'before', from the root قبل, that which comes ahead in time. L1 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, usually shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small stroke below the last letter. قَبْلِ ends in that kasrah ـِ because the preposition مِن stands before it: 'from before you'. L2 · R12
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'your' glued onto the end of a word. The ending كُمْ on قَبْلِكُمْ stands for 'you all': before you. L3 · R6
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains one word onto another, and the second word carries the genitive — the owner-slot ending, usually shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke below the last letter. The ending كُمْ 'you' is chained to قَبْلِ 'before'; a pronoun like كُمْ keeps its fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears on it — the genitive is the role its slot carries: 'before you'. L5 · R5
So far: “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you,”
لَعَلَّكُمْ
(…that you may)
لَعَلَّكُمْword 10
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعللَعَلَّ means 'perhaps / so that' and, like إِنَّ, carries the doubling shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped mark — and pushes its own topic into the accusative, the ending usually shown by a fathah ـَ above the last letter, while its comment stays nominative, the ḍammah ـُ form. Here its topic is the attached كُمْ 'you'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no fathah appears, but the role it fills is the accusative one: 'that you may…'. L15 · R8
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on لَعَلَّكُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all' — the topic لَعَلَّ takes as its subject. L3 · R6
تَتَّقُونَ
(…become righteous -)
Root وقي — to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety · 258 times in the Quran
تَتَّقُونَword 11
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَتَّقُونَ names an action — guarding oneself in awe of Allah — from the root وقي, to fear Allah and guard against evil. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb describes ongoing or coming action and opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. تَتَّقُونَ opens with تَ, marking a 'you' doer: 'you become righteous'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes ending in نَ, one being تَفْعَلُونَ 'you all do'. تَتَّقُونَ has that ونَ ending marking 'you all', and its kept نَ shows it stands in its plain mood. L10 · R10
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb has a و or ي among its root letters, which love to soften or vanish. From the root وقي, the weak و has folded into the doubled تّ at the front of تَتَّقُونَ, hiding that root letter. L24 · R1
Form VIII Verb · اِفْتَعَلَA Form VIII verb tucks an extra تـ just after the first root letter. In تَتَّقُونَ, from the root وقي, that inserted تـ has merged with the root to give the doubled تّ, marking it as Form VIII. L13 · R4
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ونَ ending on تَتَّقُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all' — those who may become righteous. 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 تَتَّقُونَ 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
The command to worship Allah alone — without associating anything with Him — is that mankind may become righteous, singling Him out in worship, for He created and sustains them.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:21
So far: “O mankind, worship your Lord, who created you and those before you, that you may become righteous -”