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 عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَقُلْنَا 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
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. قُلْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'And We said', 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 وَقُلْنَا that ending is نَا, telling exactly who is meant: 'And We said', 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 قُلْ 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. نَا · 'us/our' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — وَقُلْنَا — 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 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 word that names a person, place, thing, or idea — and in Arabic this includes proper names. ـَٔادَمُ is a proper name: 'O 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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. ٱسْكُنْ is a command: 'Dwell', from the root سكن: to dwell, inhabit; to be still, tranquil; poverty. 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 عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَزَوْجُكَ 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
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. زَوْجُ names such a thing: 'and your spouse', from the root زوج: spouse, mate, pair, to pair, to conjoin in pairs. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. وَزَوْجُكَ 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
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 · 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 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 at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. The letter after it is a 'moon' letter — a letter not made in the same part of the mouth as ل — so the ل of the prefix keeps its own sound, both written and heard, resting with the sukūn ـْ (a small circle written above the letter): ٱلْجَنَّةَ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea — and in Arabic this includes proper names. جَنَّةَ is a proper name: '(in) Paradise'. L1 · R6
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 عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَكُلَا 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
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. كُلَ is a command: 'and [you both] eat', 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 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. ا · 'you two/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — وَكُلَا — 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 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 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. مِنْ · 'from/of' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another; Arabic keeps a short list of them — small words like فِي 'in', مِنْ 'from', and عَلَىٰ 'on'. مِنْ · 'from/of' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'me / us / them' that cannot stand alone — it is glued onto the end of another word, and each form carries within it exactly who is meant. هَا · 'her/her' hangs on the little relation-word in مِنْهَا, governed by the word it is fastened to. L3 · R6
رَغَدًاword 9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. رَغَدًا names such a thing: 'freely', from the root رغد: to eat freely, abundance, plentiful provision. L1 · R6
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun is a naming word left general — not pinned to one known thing by the definite article ال ('the') — and it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. رَغَدًا carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled: 'freely'. 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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. شِئْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'you [both] wish', from the root شيا: to will, wish; thing. 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 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 شِئْ is شيا: to will, wish; thing — and its middle letter is the weak ي, so the weakness sits in the middle of the root. L24 · R4
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 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. تُمَا · 'you two/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — شِئْتُمَا — 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 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 عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَلَا 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
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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. تَقْرَبَ is an action unfolding now: '[you two] approach', from the root قرب: to get or draw nigh, approach. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb is the verb shape that opens with one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت; small helper words before it can bend its time and mood. تَقْرَبَ wears that present-tense shape, opening with exactly such a letter: '[you two] approach', from the root قرب: to get or draw nigh, 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-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. تَقْرَبَا is one of them, but here its closing ن has dropped away — and for these five shapes that dropped ن is itself the grammar-sign: it marks the jussive mood, the bent form a governing word before it forces on the verb. 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. ا · 'you two/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — تَقْرَبَا — 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 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 at the front of a noun (a naming word); it means 'the' — one specific, known one. Because the next letter, ش, 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: ٱلشَّجَرَةَ. 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 grammatically 'she', most often marked by a ة — the round 'tied tā' — at its end. شَّجَرَةَ carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: '[the] tree'. 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 happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. تَكُونَ is an action unfolding now: 'lest you [both] be', from the root كون: to be, exist, happen. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb is the verb shape that opens with one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت; small helper words before it can bend its time and mood. تَكُونَ wears that present-tense shape, opening with exactly such a letter: 'lest you [both] be', from the root كون: to be, exist, happen. 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-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. فَتَكُونَا is one of them, but here its closing ن has dropped away — and for these five shapes that dropped ن is itself the grammar-sign: it marks the subjunctive mood, the bent form a governing word before it forces on the verb. L10 · R10
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 تَكُونَ is كون: to be, exist, happen — and its middle letter is the weak و, so the weakness sits in the middle of the root. L24 · R4
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 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. مِنَ · 'from/of' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another; Arabic keeps a short list of them — small words like فِي 'in', مِنْ 'from', and عَلَىٰ 'on'. مِنَ · 'from/of' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَword 18
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, ظ, 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: ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. ظَّٰلِمِينَ is such a naming word: 'the wrongdoers', from the root ظلم: to do wrong or evil, to wrong, to treat unjustly, ill-treat, oppress, harm, suppress, tyrannise. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. Even as a plural, ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is a masculine noun; its ending is the 'sound' plural ending Arabic reserves for masculine nouns. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more of something. 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); ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ closes with exactly such an ending: not one, but a whole group. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the 'after-of / after-preposition' family of endings a noun — a naming word — can wear; on most nouns it is shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. 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); ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ wears its genitive inside that shared plural ending. L2 · R7
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."”