And seek help through patience and prayer; and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allāh]
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ بِٱلصَّبْرِ وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚ
(And seek help through patience and prayer;)
Root عون — to aid, assist, help · 11 times in the Quran
Root صبر — to be patient, endure with steadfastness · 103 times in the Quran
Root صلو — to pray, to bless; prayer, blessing · 99 times in the Quran
وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟word 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ 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. ٱسْتَعِينُ is a command: 'And seek help', from the root عون: to aid, assist, help. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a direct command addressed to 'you', formed from the present-tense verb by removing its prefix and adding a helping ٱ when what remains starts with a vowelless letter. ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ shows that helping ٱ, commanding a group: 'seek help!' — the ending وا۟ pointing the order at 'you all'. L10 · R1
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 ٱسْتَعِينُ is عون: its weak middle و has softened into the long ي of ـعِينُ in this shape. L24 · R4
Form X Verb · اِسْتَفْعَلَA Form X verb adds اِسْتَـ to the front of the root, typically meaning asking or seeking the action. ٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ opens with exactly that ٱسْتَـ before its root عون (to help): to SEEK help — ask for aid. L13 · R6
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 — وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ — 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 وَٱسْتَعِينُوا۟ 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
بِٱلصَّبْرِword 2
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix بِ at the front of بِٱلصَّبْرِ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'in/with' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the naming word after it into the genitive, the ending marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the letter — and بِٱلصَّبْرِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L4 · R1
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, ص, 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: بِٱلصَّبْرِ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. صَّبْرِ names such a thing: 'through patience', from the root صبر: to be patient, endure with steadfastness. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. بِٱلصَّبْرِ 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
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a noun (a naming word) takes after a preposition — a little word like 'in' or 'to' — and it is marked by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the letter. صَّبْرِ stands right after such a little word, so its final letter carries exactly that kasrah ـِ: بِٱلصَّبْرِ. L2 · R12
وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ ۚword 3
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ 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
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, ص, 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: وَٱلصَّلَوٰةِ. 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 prayer, from the root صلو, to pray, to bless. 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. صَّلَوٰةِ carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: 'and the prayer'. L2 · R1
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the last letter. صَّلَوٰةِ carries that kasrah ـِ on its ة, copying the ending of 'patience', which it is joined to after the preposition بِ. L2 · R12
Allah commanded His servants to use patience and prayer to acquire the good of this life and the Hereafter. 'Umar bin Al-Khattab said, "There are two types of patience: good patience when the disaster strikes, and a better patience while avoiding the prohibitions of Allah."
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:45
So far: “And seek help through patience and prayer;”
وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ
(…and indeed, it is difficult)
Root كبر — to be great, big, mighty; to be arrogant, proud; elder · 161 times in the Quran
وَإِنَّهَاword 4
Resumptive Particle · حرف استئنافA resumptive particle is a وَ or فَ that begins a fresh statement after a pause or a shift of topic — it starts the speech anew rather than adding one more item to a list. The prefix وَ · 'and' at the front of وَإِنَّهَا opens such a fresh start. L14 · R1
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلإِنَّ 'indeed' — carrying the doubling shaddah ـّ, a small w-shaped mark — is a particle of the family حرف مشبه بالفعل that opens a topic-plus-comment sentence, adds emphasis, and pushes its topic into the accusative, the fathah ـَ form. Joined with 'it' it reads إِنَّهَا: 'indeed, it…'. L15 · R2
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 وَإِنَّهَا stands for 'it' — the topic إِنَّ speaks about, held in the accusative role, the fathah ـَ form; the pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no fathah appears. L3 · R6
لَكَبِيرَةٌword 5
Emphatic Lām & Nūn · لام التوكيد ونون التوكيدThe emphatic لَـ at the front of a word presses down on the statement to say it is really, surely true, without changing any ending. The لَ opening لَكَبِيرَةٌ carries that stress: it is SURELY a heavy thing. L20 · R14
Noun · اسمA word that accepts tanwīn — the doubled end-vowel marks ـٌ ـً ـٍ — is a noun, a naming word; the category covers describing words like 'great'. كَبِيرَةٌ ends in the doubled ḍammah ـٌ, from the root كبر, to be great, big, mighty. L1 · R2
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. كَبِيرَةٌ carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: '(is) surely difficult'. L2 · R1
Singular Noun · مفردA singular noun refers to exactly one and shows its ending with a single short vowel mark, doubled to tanwīn when the word is indefinite. كَبِيرَةٌ names one thing — a great burden — with its doubled ḍammah ـٌ on the ة. L2 · R4
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. كَبِيرَةٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled: '(is) surely difficult'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. كَبِيرَةٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ: it is the comment about إِنَّ's topic, and the comment stays nominative in its own right. L2 · R10
The pronoun 'it' refers to prayer, as Mujahid said — also the choice of Ibn Jarir; it may also refer to the whole advice, to observe patience and the prayer. Allah's statement means: prayer is heavy and burdensome.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:45
إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ
(…except for the humbly submissive [to Allāh])
Root خشع — to be humble, to submit, to be reverent · 17 times in the Quran
إِلَّاword 6
Restriction Particle · أداة الحصرA restriction particle narrows a whole statement down, meaning 'only'. إِلَّا 'except' carves one group out of the heaviness just declared: the prayer weighs on everyone EXCEPT the humble — only for them is it light. L19 · R5
عَلَىword 7
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. عَلَى · 'on/upon' 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'. عَلَى · 'on/upon' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَword 8
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): ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. خَٰشِعِينَ is such a naming word: 'the humble ones', from the root خشع: to be humble, to submit, to be reverent. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. Even as a plural, ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ 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); ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ 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); ٱلْخَـٰشِعِينَ 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 or holder of the action. خَٰشِع is built on that pattern from the root خشع (to be humble, to submit): one who humbles himself. L11 · R1
Ibn 'Abbas commented on this Ayah: "They (Al-Khashi'in) are those who believe in what Allah has revealed."
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:45
So far: “And seek help through patience and prayer; and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive [to Allāh]”