Hafiz soon
Al-Baqarah · 2:44

Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?

Sahih International

Grammar, phrase by phrase

۞ أَتَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبِرِّ

(Do you order righteousness of the people)

Root امرmatter, affair, command · 248 times in the Quran

Root نوسmen, people · 241 times in the Quran

Root بررto act well, be pious towards God, parents; be virtuous, be true, behave courteously · 32 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

۞ أَتَأْمُرُونَword 1

Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative particle turns a statement into a question, the way English adds 'Do…?'. The prefix أَ here opens the question: 'DO you order…?' — a question posed not for information but to confront. L17 · R1

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَأْمُرُ names an action — ordering, commanding — from the root امر: matter, affair, command. L1 · R7

Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. تَأْمُرُونَ opens with the prefix تَ, the 'you' letter, always standing before the root letters: the ordering is a present, ongoing habit. L8 · R3

The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself shows the mood: kept in the normal mood, dropped after trimming words. تَأْمُرُونَ is the 'you all do' shape with its نَ kept — a plain statement inside the question: you DO order others. L10 · R10

Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) as one of its root letters, and the hamza keeps changing its written seat, which can disguise the root. The root امر begins with a hamza; in تَأْمُرُونَ it sits on an alif seat carrying a sukūn ـْ — the small circle above the أْ. L24 · R11

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on أَتَأْمُرُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. 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 و in the ending ونَ of أَتَأْمُرُونَ 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

ٱلنَّاسَword 2

Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱل ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word. Here the ن 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 ن 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 the people, from the root نوس — men, people. 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, made either by adding an ending or by the word's own reshaped pattern rather than an added ending. نَّاسَ carries no plural ending, yet in itself names people as a many — the whole crowd of them. L2 · 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. ٱلنَّاسَ ends in that fathah ـَ. L2 · R11

Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, shown here by the fathah ـَ on the last letter. The people are the ones the ordering lands on. L9 · R3

بِٱلْبِرِّword 3

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 ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. The prefix بِ ties the ordering to its content: order them 'to righteousness'. L4 · R2

Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱلْ ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word to mark one specific, known thing. Here it marks بِرِّ as 'the righteousness' — the ل carrying the sukūn ـْ, the small circle showing it is written and heard before the ب. L2 · R9

Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱلْ ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names righteousness, from the root برر, to act well, be pious, be virtuous, be true. 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

Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the last letter. بِرِّ carries that kasrah ـِ on its doubled رِّ because بِ stands before it. L2 · R12

Significance — from the tafsir

Qatadah commented: "The Children of Israel used to command people to obey Allah, fear Him and perform Al-Birr. Yet, they contradicted these orders, so Allah reminded them of this fact."

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:44

وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ

(…and forget yourselves)

Root نسيto forget · 45 times in the Quran

Root نفسsoul, self, person; one's own self · 298 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

وَتَنسَوْنَword 4

Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word like 'and' that ties one statement to another. The prefix وَ joins the forgetting to the ordering, holding the two habits side by side inside the question. L4 · R4

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَنسَ names an action — forgetting — from the root نسي, to forget. L1 · R7

Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. تَنسَوْنَ opens with the prefix تَ, the 'you' letter, always standing before the root letters: the forgetting is a present, ongoing habit. L8 · R3

The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself shows the mood: kept in the normal mood, dropped after trimming words. تَنسَوْنَ is the 'you all do' shape with its نَ kept — a plain statement inside the question: you DO forget yourselves. L10 · R10

Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is one whose root contains the weak letter و or ي — letters that love to change shape or vanish. The root of تَنسَوْنَ is نسي: its final weak ي has slipped away before the ending, leaving the short تَنسَ joined to وْنَ. L24 · R2

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending وْنَ on وَتَنسَوْنَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. 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 و in the ending وْنَ of وَتَنسَوْنَ 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

أَنفُسَكُمْword 5

Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person, thing, or idea. أَنفُسَ names souls — selves — from the root نفس: soul, self, one's own self. L1 · R6

Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as 'she'. نَفْس 'soul' carries no visible marker like ة, yet is one of the words simply known to be feminine — it must be memorized — so its plural too is treated as 'she'. L2 · R2

Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more, made either by adding an ending or by reshaping the word from the inside — a 'broken' plural. أَنفُسَ is such a broken plural: the single نَفْس 'soul' is reshaped from within into 'souls', with no plural ending added. L2 · 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. أَنفُسَ ends in that fathah ـَ on its سَ. L2 · R11

Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, shown here by the fathah ـَ on the سَ. Your own selves are what the forgetting lands on. L9 · R3

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'your' glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on أَنفُسَكُمْ stands for 'you all': 'YOUR selves'. 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 كُمْ 'you all' is that owner glued onto أَنفُسَ: 'the selves of you'. A pronoun keeps its fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears on it — the genitive is the role its owner slot carries. L5 · R5

Significance — from the tafsir

Ibn 'Abbas said 'And you forget yourselves' means, "You forget to practice it yourselves."

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:44

وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ۚ

(…while you recite the Scripture?)

Root تلوto recite, follow · 63 times in the Quran

Root كتبto write, prescribe, decree; book, scripture · 319 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

وَأَنتُمْword 6

Circumstantial Particle · واو الحالThe circumstantial وَ means 'while', introducing a mini-sentence that describes the state things were in during the main action. Its marker is that a complete topic-plus-comment sentence follows — أَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ 'you recite' — rather than a joined item: they do all this WHILE reciting. L14 · R3

Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA detached pronoun is a standalone word for 'I/you/he'. أَنتُمْ is the standalone word for 'you all' — one of the twelve detached forms. L3 · R2

Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is the naming word a statement opens by talking about — its topic — standing in the nominative, the topic form usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. A pronoun can serve as this topic, and أَنتُمْ 'you all' opens the 'while' sentence — a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one; 'recite the Scripture' is what is said about you. L6 · R2

Circumstantial (Hāl) · الحالThe ḥāl describes the state someone is in while the action happens, and one of its forms is a whole mini-sentence opened by the 'while' وَ. The sentence beginning with أَنتُمْ — 'while you recite the Scripture' — describes the state of those questioned: the Book is in their very mouths as they forget themselves. L21 · R6

تَتْلُونَword 7

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَتْلُ names an action — reciting — from the root تلو, to recite, follow. L1 · R7

Predicate (Khabar) · خبرThe predicate is the part that tells you something about the topic, and it can be a complete verbal sentence. The topic was أَنتُمْ 'you all'; the verb-sentence تَتْلُونَ 'you recite' is what is said about you — the inner sentence itself carries the information, with no separate 'is' needed. L6 · R4

Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. تَتْلُونَ opens with the prefix تَ, the 'you' letter, always standing before the root letters: the reciting is a present, ongoing practice. L8 · R3

The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself shows the mood: kept in the normal mood, dropped after trimming words. تَتْلُونَ is the 'you all do' shape with its نَ kept — a plain statement of fact: you DO recite it. L10 · R10

Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb is one whose root contains the weak letter و or ي — letters that love to hide or vanish. The root of تَتْلُونَ is تلو: its final weak و has slipped into the و of the ending, leaving the short تَتْلُ. L24 · R2

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on تَتْلُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. 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 و in the ending ونَ of تَتْلُونَ 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

ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ ۚword 8

Definite Article · أل التعريفThe definite article is the prefix ٱلْ ('the') fixed to the front of a naming word to mark one specific, known thing. Here it marks كِتَٰبَ as 'THE Scripture' — the ل carrying the sukūn ـْ, the small circle showing it is written and heard before the ك. L2 · R9

Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱلْ ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names the Book, from the root كتب, to write, prescribe; book, scripture. 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

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. ٱلْكِتَٰبَ ends in that fathah ـَ. L2 · R11

Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the thing the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, shown here by the fathah ـَ on the last letter. The Scripture is what the reciting lands on. L9 · R3

Significance — from the tafsir

Ibn 'Abbas said: "While you recite the Scripture — you forbid the people from rejecting the prophethood and the covenant mentioned in the Tawrah, while you yourselves have forgotten it: you have breached My covenant, and rejected what you know is in My Book."

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:44

So far: Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture?

أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

(Then will you not reason?)

Root عقلto bind the feet of a camel with a rope; to understand, comprehend · 49 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

أَفَلَاword 9

Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative particle turns a statement into a question. The prefix أَ combines here with other small words to make أَفَلَا 'will you not…?' — one of the Quran's confronting question-openers. L17 · R1

Supplementary Particle · حرف زائدA supplementary particle is an extra word added for weight and rhythm — removing it would not change the core meaning, though it always presses the expression harder. The فَ tucked between the question أَ and the 'not' لَا is such an added word: 'then will you not…?'. L14 · R4

Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. لَا is such a helper word here. L1 · R8

Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word like لَا meaning 'not', which flips a statement to its opposite. Here لَا negates the verb after it inside the question: 'will you NOT reason?'. L4 · R5

تَعْقِلُونَword 10

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تَعْقِلُ names an action — using reason, understanding — from the root عقل, to understand, comprehend. L1 · R7

Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. تَعْقِلُونَ opens with the prefix تَ, the 'you' letter, always standing before the root letters. L8 · R3

The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself shows the mood: kept in the normal mood, dropped after trimming words. تَعْقِلُونَ keeps its نَ — so the لَا before it is plain negation inside a question, not a command: 'do you not reason?'. L10 · R10

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on تَعْقِلُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. 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 و in the ending ونَ of تَعْقِلُونَ 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

Significance — from the tafsir

'Have you then no sense' — of what you are doing to yourselves, so that you might become aware of your slumber and restore your sight from blindness.

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:44

So far: Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?