Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
ٱلَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ
(Who are certain)
Root ظنن — to think, suppose, assume; to be certain, conviction · 69 times in the Quran
ٱلَّذِينَword 1
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'those who' that hooks a whole describing sentence onto a specific naming word, matching it in gender and number. ٱلَّذِينَ is the form for a group of 'he'-words, matching 'the humble ones', and it hooks on the sentence 'are certain that they will meet their Lord'. L5 · R13
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that comes after its noun. ٱلَّذِينَ, with the clause it carries, follows 'the humble ones' and describes them, agreeing with them as many, masculine, and definite; its own written shape is fixed. L7 · R1
يَظُنُّونَword 2
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action of the mind tied to a time. يَظُنُّ names being convinced — from the root ظنن: to think, suppose; to be certain, conviction. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. يَظُنُّونَ opens with the prefix يَ, the 'they' letter, always standing before the root letters: their certainty is a living, present state. 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. يَظُنُّونَ is the 'they do' shape with its نَ kept — a plain statement of fact about them. L10 · R10
Doubled Verb · فعل مضاعفA doubled verb is one whose second and third root letters are the same letter, written once with the shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped doubling mark. The root of يَظُنُّونَ is ظنن, its two ن's folded into the single نُّ carrying that shaddah ـّ. L24 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on يَظُنُّونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they'. 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 يَظُنُّونَ is that doer, 'they'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
Ibn Jarir said: "The Arabs call certainty as well as doubt, Zann" — a subject and its opposite sharing one name; here it means they are certain.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:46
أَنَّهُم مُّلَـٰقُوا۟ رَبِّهِمْ
(…that they will meet their Lord)
Root لقي — to meet, encounter, to cast or throw · 146 times in the Quran
Root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector · 980 times in the Quran
أَنَّهُمword 3
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلأَنَّ 'that' — carrying the doubling shaddah ـّ, a small w-shaped mark — is a particle of the family حرف مشبه بالفعل that introduces the content of knowing or believing, mid-sentence, with the same grammar as إِنَّ: it pushes its topic into the accusative, the fathah ـَ form, while the comment stays nominative. Here it opens WHAT they are certain of. L15 · R4
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 هُم on أَنَّهُم stands for 'they' — the topic أَنَّ speaks about, held in the accusative role, the fathah ـَ form; the pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no fathah appears. L3 · R6
مُّلَـٰقُوا۟word 4
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person or doer of something. مُّلَٰقُوا۟ names the ones meeting, from the root لقي, to meet, encounter. 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
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); مُّلَٰقُوا۟ carries the ـُو of that ending, its ن dropped because the word is chained to 'their Lord' in an 'of' pairing: 'meeters OF their Lord'. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the standing a word takes as the comment about a topic, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. For this kind of plural the nominative shows itself instead as the ending ـُونَ, here with its ن dropped for the 'of' chain, leaving ـُوا۟. It is the comment about أَنَّ's topic 'they', and the comment keeps this nominative standing in its own right. L2 · R10
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a naming word built from a verb's root to name the doer of the action; for the derived verb families it begins with مُـ. مُّلَٰقُوا۟ begins with exactly that مُـ, built from the root لقي (to meet): 'ones who will meet'. L11 · R3
رَبِّهِمْword 5
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person, thing, or idea. رَبِّ names the Lord, from the root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, 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
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes as the owner in an 'of' phrase, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the last letter. رَبِّ carries that kasrah ـِ on its doubled بِّ as the second word of 'meeters OF their Lord'. L2 · R12
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains naming words into an 'of' phrase, the owner always in the genitive — usually a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke below the last letter. Two links are chained here: رَبِّ, wearing that kasrah, is the owner-half of 'meeters of their Lord', and the ending هِمْ 'them' in turn owns رَبّ — 'the Lord of them'. The pronoun keeps its fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears on it; the genitive is the role its owner slot carries. L5 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'their' glued onto the end of another word. The ending هِمْ on رَبِّهِمْ stands for 'them': 'THEIR Lord'. L3 · R7
They know that they will be gathered and face their Lord on the Day of Resurrection.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:46
So far: “Who are certain that they will meet their Lord”
وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَٰجِعُونَ
(…and that they will return to Him.)
Root رجع — to return, bring back, turn back · 104 times in the Quran
وَأَنَّهُمْword 6
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a small joining word like 'and' that ties one item to another. The prefix وَ joins this second certainty to the first: meeting Him, AND returning to Him. L4 · R4
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلأَنَّ 'that' — carrying the doubling shaddah ـّ, a small w-shaped mark — is a particle of the family حرف مشبه بالفعل that introduces the content of knowing or believing, pushing its topic into the accusative, the fathah ـَ form, while the comment stays nominative. Here it opens the second thing they are certain of. L15 · R4
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 هُمْ on وَأَنَّهُمْ stands for 'they' — the topic أَنَّ speaks about, held in the accusative role, the fathah ـَ form; the pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no fathah appears. L3 · R6
إِلَيْهِword 7
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. إِلَيْ 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 ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. إِلَى 'to/toward', written إِلَيْ before its ending, is one of the common prepositions: returning 'to Him'. L4 · 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 هِ on إِلَيْهِ stands for 'Him' — their Lord, to whom the return leads. L3 · R6
رَٰجِعُونَword 8
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word for a person or doer of something. رَٰجِعُونَ names the ones returning, from the root رجع, to return, bring back, turn back. 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
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); رَٰجِعُونَ ends in exactly that ـُونَ: the many who return. L2 · R6
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the standing a word takes as the comment about a topic, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. For this kind of plural the nominative shows itself instead as the ending ـُونَ, which رَٰجِعُونَ carries: it is the comment about أَنَّ's topic 'they', and the comment keeps this nominative standing in its own right. L2 · R10
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. رَٰجِع is built on that pattern from the root رجع (to return): one who returns. L11 · R1
'And that unto Him they are going to return' — their affairs are all subject to His will, and He justly decides what He wills. Since they are certain they will be returned to Allah and be reckoned, it is easy for them to perform the acts of obedience and refrain from the prohibitions.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:46
So far: “Who are certain that they will meet their Lord and that they will return to Him.”