And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَقُلْنَا يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُ
(And We said, "O Adam,)
Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran
وَقُلْنَاword 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word that ties one statement to another. The prefix وَ joins this saying to the account before it. L4 · R4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. قُلْنَا names an action — saying — from the root قول, to say, speak, tell. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb carries its person marker as an ending glued to the verb's tail. On وَقُلْنَا that ending is نَا, the 'We' marker — note the sukūn ـْ, the small circle above the ل, closing the verb before it: 'We said'. L8 · R2
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is one whose root contains the weak letter و or ي — letters that love to soften or vanish. The root of قُلْنَا is قول; its weak middle و has dropped away in this shape, leaving the short قُلْ. L24 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending نَا on وَقُلْنَا is such a suffix, standing for 'We'. L3 · R7
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 نَا on وَقُلْنَا is that doer, 'We'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
يَـٰٓـَٔادَمُword 2
Vocative Particle · حرف نداءA vocative particle is a calling word placed before a name to address someone directly. The prefix يَٰٓ means 'O!': 'O Adam!'. L4 · R8
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word — it covers proper names as well as things and ideas. ـَٔادَمُ is the proper name of Adam. L1 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the standing shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. ـَٔادَمُ ends in exactly that ḍammah ـُ, the shape this name wears as the one being called. L2 · R10
Vocative · المُنَادَىThe vocative is the person being called, formed as يَا plus the called name — and يَا is the most common calling word. Here يَٰٓ plus ـَٔادَمُ addresses Adam directly: 'O Adam!'. L21 · R2
ٱسْكُنْ أَنتَ وَزَوْجُكَ ٱلْجَنَّةَ
(…dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise)
Root سكن — to dwell, inhabit; to be still, tranquil; poverty · 69 times in the Quran
Root زوج — spouse, mate, pair, to pair, to conjoin in pairs · 81 times in the Quran
Root جنن — to cover, conceal; garden, paradise; jinn (hidden beings) · 201 times in the Quran
ٱسْكُنْword 3
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. ٱسْكُنْ names an action — dwelling — from the root سكن, to dwell, inhabit; to be still. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a direct command addressed to 'you', formed from the present-tense verb by removing its تَـ prefix, resting its final letter on a sukūn ـْ — the small circle meaning no vowel follows — and adding a helping ٱ at the front. ٱسْكُنْ shows all of this: 'dwell!'. L10 · R1
أَنتَword 4
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA detached pronoun is a standalone word for 'I/you/he/they'. أَنتَ is the standalone word 'you', addressed to Adam. L3 · R2
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, and it always takes the nominative — the doer's form, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. أَنتَ 'you' names the one who is to dwell; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R2
وَزَوْجُكَword 5
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word like 'and' that ties one item to another, and the joined item copies the case of the one before it. The prefix وَ joins 'your wife' to 'you', so زَوْجُ carries the nominative ḍammah ـُ. L4 · R4
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person, thing, or idea. زَوْجُ names a spouse, from the root زوج: spouse, mate, pair. 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 — the word for 'spouse' keeps this default shape even when it names a wife. L2 · R3
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. زَوْجُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ, matching أَنتَ 'you', the doer it is joined to. L2 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'your' glued onto the end of another word. The ending كَ on وَزَوْجُكَ stands for 'your': 'your wife'. L3 · R7
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 كَ 'your' is that owner glued onto زَوْجُ. A pronoun like كَ keeps its fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears on it — the genitive is the role its owner slot carries. L5 · R5
ٱلْجَنَّةَword 6
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱلْ ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word to mark one specific, known place. Here it marks جَنَّةَ as 'the Garden' — Paradise. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱلْ ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names a place: Paradise, from the root جنن, to cover, conceal; garden, paradise. L1 · R1
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending a naming word takes when the action lands on it, shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the last letter. ٱلْجَنَّةَ ends in exactly that fathah ـَ. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is what the action lands on, in the accusative — the fathah ـَ, the small stroke above the last letter. ٱلْجَنَّةَ carries that fathah as what the dwelling takes in: 'dwell in Paradise'. L9 · R3
Allah honored Adam again, allowing him and his wife to live and eat in Paradise wherever they wished; the ayah indicates that Hawwa' had been created — from Adam's rib, as a comfort for him — before Adam entered Paradise.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:35
وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا
(…and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will.)
Root اكل — to eat, consume · 109 times in the Quran
Root رغد — to eat freely, abundance, plentiful provision · 3 times in the Quran
Root حيث — where, whereat, in the place where · 31 times in the Quran
Root شيا — to will, wish; thing · 519 times in the Quran
وَكُلَاword 7
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word that ties one command to another. The prefix وَ joins 'eat' to 'dwell'. L4 · R4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. كُلَ names an action — eating — from the root اكل, to eat, consume. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a direct command addressed to 'you'. كُلَا commands two people — Adam and his wife — 'eat, both of you!': the ending ا points the order at 'you two'. L10 · R1
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb — one with the hamza ء among its root letters — bends slightly in the command: the hamza may be cut off entirely, so أَكَلَ 'he ate' gives the command كُلْ 'Eat!'. That is exactly what shows here: كُلَا 'eat, you two' opens straight with the ك, its root's first-letter hamza dropped away. L24 · R12
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ا on وَكُلَا is such a suffix, standing for 'you two' — Adam and his wife. 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 ا on وَكُلَا is that doer, 'you two'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
مِنْهَاword 8
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. مِنْ 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 naming word after it into the genitive — the after-preposition standing. مِنْ means 'from': 'eat from it'. L4 · R1
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word; glued to a particle, it is governed by that particle. The ending هَا on مِنْهَا stands for 'it' — the Garden: 'therefrom'. L3 · R6
رَغَدًاword 9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts tanwīn — the doubled end-vowel marks ـٌ ـً ـٍ — is a noun, a naming word. رَغَدًا ends in the doubled fathah ـً and names a quality: abundance, from the root رغد, to eat freely, plentiful provision. L1 · R2
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun is general and unspecified, shown by tanwīn, the doubled end-vowel mark. رَغَدًا ends in the doubled fathah ـً. L2 · R8
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـً when the word is indefinite. رَغَدًا ends in that doubled fathah ـً. L2 · R11
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that matches what it describes. رَغَدًا 'plentiful, free' describes the eating the two are invited to — an eating of ease and abundance — and wears the same accusative dress, the doubled fathah ـً. L7 · R1
حَيْثُword 10
Place Adverb · ظرف مكانA place adverb is a naming word — not a helper word — that tells WHERE the action happens. حَيْثُ means 'wherever': eat from wherever you both wish, the place left entirely open. L26 · R1
شِئْتُمَاword 11
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. شِئْ names an action — willing, wishing — from the root شيا, to will, wish. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb carries its person marker as an ending glued to the verb's tail. On شِئْتُمَا that ending is تُمَا, the 'you two' marker: 'you both wish'. L8 · R2
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is one whose root contains the weak letter و or ي — letters that love to soften or vanish. The root of شِئْتُمَا is شيا; its weak middle ي has slipped away in this shape, leaving the short شِئْ. L24 · R2
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has the hamza ء as one of its root letters. The root of شِئْتُمَا is شيا, whose final letter is that hamza — seated here as ئْ, since the hamza's written seat changes with the vowels around it. L24 · R11
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending تُمَا on شِئْتُمَا is such a suffix, standing for 'you two'. 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 تُمَا on شِئْتُمَا is that doer, 'you two'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
So far: “And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will."”
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَـٰذِهِ ٱلشَّجَرَةَ
(…But do not approach this tree,)
Root قرب — to get or draw nigh, approach · 96 times in the Quran
Root شجر — tree, plant · 27 times in the Quran
وَلَاword 12
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word that ties one clause to another. The prefix وَ joins this warning to the invitation before it: eat freely — but do not approach this tree. L4 · R4
Prohibition Particle · لا الناهيةThe prohibition particle is a لَا meaning 'do not!' — it commands someone not to act and trims the verb after it down to the jussive, the cut-short mood. On the two-person verb تَقْرَبَا that trimming shows as the dropped final نِ (the untrimmed form would be تَقْرَبَانِ): 'do not approach!'. L17 · R6
تَقْرَبَاword 13
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَقْرَبَ names an action — approaching — from the root قرب, to draw near, approach. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. تَقْرَبَا opens with تَ, the 'you' marker together with its two-person ending: 'you two approach'. L8 · R3
Jussive Mood · الفعل المجزومThe jussive mood is the cut-short present form triggered by particles like the prohibition لَا; for dual and plural shapes its marker is the dropping of the final نَ. تَقْرَبَا has lost that final نَ — the plain form would be تَقْرَبَانِ — showing the prohibiting لَا before it. L10 · R5
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes that end in نَ, one being تَفْعَلَانِ 'you two do'; for these shapes that نَ itself is the mood sign — kept in the plain mood, dropped after a trimming word. Here the نَ has dropped — تَقْرَبَا instead of تَقْرَبَانِ — the very sign of the prohibition لَا before it. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ا on تَقْرَبَا is such a suffix, standing for 'you two' — the two warned away. 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 ا on تَقْرَبَا is that doer, 'you two'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
هَـٰذِهِword 14
Demonstrative Pronoun · اسم إشارةA demonstrative pronoun is a pointing word that singles out a specific thing, near or far. هَٰذِهِ points to something near, feminine, and singular — 'this', the tree before them. L3 · R8
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is what the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter. The forbidden approaching of تَقْرَبَا lands on هَـٰذِهِ 'this'; a pointing word keeps one fixed written shape, so no fathah appears on it — the object role is carried by its place in the sentence. L9 · R3
ٱلشَّجَرَةَword 15
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word. Here the ش is one of the fourteen 'solar' letters — letters made near where the ل itself is made, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — so the ش doubles, shown by the shaddah ـّ, the small w-shaped doubling mark above it. 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 thing: 'the tree', from the root شجر, tree, plant. L1 · R1
Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as 'she', typically marked by a ة at its end. شَّجَرَةَ carries that ة, so it is treated as feminine — matching the feminine pointing word هَٰذِهِ before it. L2 · R1
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the last letter. ٱلشَّجَرَةَ ends in exactly that fathah ـَ, matching 'this', the pointed-at word it clarifies. L2 · R11
Apposition (Badal) · بدلAn apposition is a second naming word that renames the one before it to make it clearer, matching it in case. ٱلشَّجَرَةَ 'the tree' renames the pointed-at هَـٰذِهِ 'this' — this, namely the tree — and wears the same accusative fathah ـَ. L7 · R4
'But come not near this tree' was a test for Adam; the correct opinion, as Ibn Jarir said, is that we do not know which tree it was — Allah has not mentioned its nature in the Qur'an or authentic Sunnah, and that knowledge would bring no benefit.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:35
فَتَكُونَا مِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ
(…lest you be among the wrongdoers.")
Root كون — to be, exist, happen · 1,390 times in the Quran
Root ظلم — to do wrong or evil, to wrong, to treat unjustly, ill-treat, oppress, harm, suppress, tyrannise · 315 times in the Quran
فَتَكُونَاword 16
Causal Particle · فاء السببيةThe causal particle is a فَ meaning 'so / because of that', tying an action to what follows from it, and it puts the present-tense verb after it into the subjunctive — the mood shown here by a dropped final نَ. The prefix فَ warns of the outcome: approach the tree, and as a result 'you would both be among the wrongdoers'. L14 · R5
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or state tied to a time. تَكُونَ names a state — being — from the root كون, to be, exist, happen. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. تَكُونَا opens with تَ, the 'you' marker together with its two-person ending: 'you two would be'. L8 · R3
Subjunctive Mood · الفعل المنصوبThe subjunctive mood is the shape a present tense verb takes after certain particles; its marker is a fathah ـَ for singular forms and the dropping of the final نَ for dual and plural forms. تَكُونَا has lost that final نَ — the plain form would be تَكُونَانِ — showing the causal فَ before it. L10 · R4
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes that end in نَ, one being تَفْعَلَانِ 'you two do'; for these shapes that نَ itself is the mood sign — kept in the plain mood, dropped after a mood-changing word. Here the نَ has dropped — تَكُونَا instead of تَكُونَانِ — the sign of the causal فَ before it. L10 · R10
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is one whose root contains the weak letter و or ي. The root of تَكُونَا is كون, and its weak middle و is visible here as the long 'ū' of كُونَ. L24 · R2
Kāna Verb · كان وأخواتهاكَانَ 'to be' is an incomplete verb: saying only 'you two would be' leaves the thought hanging — be WHAT? — so it needs both a topic and a comment. Here the topic is the attached ا 'you two', and the comment is the phrase 'among the wrongdoers', which completes the meaning. L18 · R1
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ا on فَتَكُونَا is such a suffix, standing for 'you two' — the topic كَانَ speaks about, a slot that stays in the nominative, the ḍammah ـُ form; the pronoun's fixed written shape carries that role. L3 · R6
مِنَword 17
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. مِنَ 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 naming word right after it into the genitive — the after-preposition ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. مِنَ means 'of/among': 'among the wrongdoers'. L4 · R1
ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَword 18
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word. Here the ظ is one of the fourteen 'solar' letters — letters made near where the ل itself is made, which swallow the ل of ٱل so it is written but not heard — so the ظ doubles, shown by the shaddah ـّ, the small w-shaped doubling mark above it. 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 wrongdoers', from the root ظلم, to do wrong, treat unjustly, oppress. 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. The sound masculine plural carries its role in its ending — ـُونَ for the nominative (the 'subject form', with the ḍammah ـُ sound), ـِينَ for the accusative and genitive (the 'object' and 'of' forms); ظَّٰلِمِينَ ends in exactly that ـِينَ: the many wrongdoers. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition; for this kind of plural that ending is ـِينَ, carrying the kasrah sound. ظَّٰلِمِينَ ends in ـِينَ because the preposition مِنَ 'among' stands before it. L2 · R12
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a naming word built from a verb's root on the pattern فَاعِل to name the doer of the action. ظَٰلِم is built on that pattern from the root ظلم (to do wrong): ones who wrong. L11 · R1
So far: “And We said, "O Adam, dwell, you and your wife, in Paradise and eat therefrom in [ease and] abundance from wherever you will. But do not approach this tree, lest you be among the wrongdoers."”