And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَٱتَّقُوا۟ يَوْمًۭا
(And fear a Day)
Root وقي — to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety · 258 times in the Quran
Root يوم — day, time, period · 405 times in the Quran
وَٱتَّقُوا۟word 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَٱتَّقُوا۟ 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. ٱتَّقُ is a command: 'And fear', from the root وقي: to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety. 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. ٱتَّقُوا۟ shows that helping ٱ, commanding a group: 'fear!' — the ending وا۟ pointing the order at 'you all'. L10 · R1
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 ٱتَّقُ is وقي: to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety — and not one but two of its letters are weak, و and ي: a doubly-weak root. L24 · R9
Form VIII Verb · اِفْتَعَلَA Form VIII verb tucks a ت inside, right after the first root letter, usually giving a do-it-for-oneself sense. In ٱتَّقُوا۟ the root's weak first letter و has merged into that tucked ت, leaving the doubled تَّ with the shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped doubling mark — as the form's visible trace: to take guard for oneself. L13 · 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. وا۟ · 'you all/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — وَٱتَّقُوا۟ — 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 وَٱتَّقُوا۟ 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
يَوْمًۭاword 2
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. يَوْمًا names such a thing: 'a day', from the root يوم: day, time, period. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. يَوْمًۭا 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
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. يَوْمًا carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'a day'. L2 · R8
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 letter — doubled to tanwīn ـً when the word is indefinite. يَوْمًا ends in that doubled fathah ـً. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the thing the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, here the doubled fathah ـً above its last letter. The Day is what the commanded fearing must land on. L9 · R3
'And fear a Day' — meaning the Day of Resurrection; after reminding the Children of Israel of His favors, Allah warned them about the duration of the torment with which He will punish them on that Day.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:48
لَّا تَجْزِى نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍۢ شَيْـًۭٔا
(…when no soul will suffice for another soul at all,)
Root جزي — I rewarded · 118 times in the Quran
Root نفس — soul, self, person; one's own self · 298 times in the Quran
Root شيا — to will, wish; thing · 519 times in the Quran
لَّاword 3
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. لَّا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word like لَا meaning 'not', which flips a statement to its opposite; لَا negates present-tense statements. Here it denies the verb after it: on that Day no soul 'will NOT avail' — will be of no help — for another. L4 · R5
تَجْزِىword 4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. تَجْزِى is an action unfolding now: 'avail', from the root جزي: I rewarded. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb describes an action happening now or still to come, and it is recognized by its opening letter — one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت. تَجْزِى opens with exactly such a letter: 'avail', from the root جزي: I rewarded. L8 · R3
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 تَجْزِى is جزي: I rewarded — and its last letter is the weak ي, so the weakness sits at the very end of the root. L24 · R7
نَفْسٌword 5
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. نَفْسٌ names such a thing: 'any soul', from the root نفس: soul, self, person; one's own self. L1 · R6
Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as grammatically 'she'. Most feminine nouns wear a visible marker — a ة at the end, a final ى, or اء — but نَفْسٌ shows none of these: it is one of the words Arabic simply knows as feminine, learned with the word itself: 'any soul'. L2 · R2
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. نَفْسٌ names one soul, its doubled ḍammah ـٌ carrying the ending. L2 · R4
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. نَفْسٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'any soul'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. نَفْسٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ. L2 · R10
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action of a verb, and it takes the nominative — shown here by the doubled ḍammah ـٌ on نَفْسٌ. The soul is the doer of the denied availing: no soul will do any availing for another. L9 · R2
عَنword 6
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. عَن · 'from/about' 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'. عَن · 'from/about' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
نَّفْسٍۢword 7
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. نَّفْسٍ names such a thing: '(another) soul', from the root نفس: soul, self, person; one's own self. L1 · R6
Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as grammatically 'she'. Most feminine nouns wear a visible marker — a ة at the end, a final ى, or اء — but نَّفْسٍ shows none of these: it is one of the words Arabic simply knows as feminine, learned with the word itself: '(another) soul'. L2 · R2
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. نَّفْسٍ names one soul, its doubled kasrah ـٍ carrying the ending. L2 · R4
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. نَّفْسٍ carries the tanwīn ـٍ — the kasrah ـِ doubled — marking it as unspecified: '(another) soul'. L2 · R8
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 — doubled to tanwīn ـٍ when the word is indefinite. نَّفْسٍ ends in that doubled kasrah ـٍ because عَن stands before it. L2 · R12
شَيْـًۭٔاword 8
Noun · اسمA word that accepts tanwīn — the doubled end-vowel marks ـٌ ـً ـٍ — is a noun, a naming word. شَيْـًٔا carries the doubled fathah ـً and names a thing — 'anything' — from the root شيا, to will, wish; thing. L1 · R2
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
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. شَيْـًٔا carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'anything'. L2 · R8
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 letter — doubled to tanwīn ـً when the word is indefinite. شَيْـًٔا carries that doubled fathah ـً. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the thing the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, here the doubled fathah ـً. شَيْـًٔا 'anything' is what the denied availing would amount to: not a single thing will one soul manage for another. L9 · R3
'When a person shall not avail another' — on that Day, no person shall be of any help to another; as Allah also said, 'And no bearer of burdens shall bear another's burden' (35:18).
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:48
So far: “And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all,”
وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَـٰعَةٌۭ
(…nor will intercession be accepted from it,)
Root قبل — to be before, accept; direction faced · 294 times in the Quran
Root شفع — to intercede, intercession · 31 times in the Quran
وَلَاword 9
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
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. لَا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word like لَا meaning 'not', which flips a statement to its opposite; لَا negates present-tense statements. Here it denies the accepting: intercession 'will NOT be accepted'. L4 · R5
يُقْبَلُword 10
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُقْبَلُ is an action unfolding now: 'will be accepted', from the root قبل: to be before, accept; direction faced. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb describes an action happening now or still to come, and it is recognized by its opening letter — one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت. يُقْبَلُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'will be accepted', from the root قبل: to be before, accept; direction faced. L8 · R3
Passive Voice · المبني للمجهولA passive voice verb leaves the doer unnamed by reshaping its inner vowels; in the present tense the pattern carries a ḍammah ـُ (a small curl) on the prefix and a fathah ـَ (a small stroke) on the second root letter. يُقْبَلُ shows both — the ḍammah on يُ and the fathah on بَ: 'will BE accepted', with no accepter named. L11 · R4
مِنْهَاword 11
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
شَفَـٰعَةٌۭword 12
Noun · اسمA word that accepts tanwīn — the doubled end-vowel marks ـٌ ـً ـٍ — is a noun, a naming word. شَفَٰعَةٌ ends in the doubled ḍammah ـٌ and names intercession — pleading on another's behalf — from the root شفع, to intercede. 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. شَفَٰعَةٌ carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: 'any intercession'. L2 · R1
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. شَفَٰعَةٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'any intercession'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. شَفَٰعَةٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ. L2 · R10
Passive Subject · نائب فاعلThe passive subject is the thing the action happens to, lifted into the subject spot of a passive verb and carrying the nominative — shown here by the doubled ḍammah ـٌ on شَفَٰعَةٌ. The intercession is what would be accepted; who might accept it is left unnamed by the verb itself. L11 · R5
'Nor will intercession be accepted from him' — meaning, from the disbelievers; as Allah said, 'So no intercession of intercessors will be of any use to them' (74:48).
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:48
وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌۭ
(…nor will compensation be taken from it,)
Root اخذ — to take, seize, grasp; to punish, hold accountable · 273 times in the Quran
Root عدل — to act justly, to equalize, to balance; justice, equivalence, ransom · 28 times in the Quran
وَلَاword 13
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
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. لَا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word like لَا meaning 'not', which flips a statement to its opposite; لَا negates present-tense statements. Here it denies the taking: compensation 'will NOT be taken'. L4 · R5
يُؤْخَذُword 14
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُؤْخَذُ is an action unfolding now: 'will be taken', from the root اخذ: to take, seize, grasp; to punish, hold accountable. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb describes an action happening now or still to come, and it is recognized by its opening letter — one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت. يُؤْخَذُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'will be taken', from the root اخذ: to take, seize, grasp; to punish, hold accountable. L8 · R3
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 اخذ begins with a hamza; in يُؤْخَذُ it sits on a wāw seat — the ؤْ — after the ḍammah of the prefix. L24 · R11
Passive Voice · المبني للمجهولA passive voice verb leaves the doer unnamed by reshaping its inner vowels; in the present tense the pattern carries a ḍammah ـُ (a small curl) on the prefix and a fathah ـَ (a small stroke) on the second root letter. يُؤْخَذُ shows both — the ḍammah on يُ and the fathah on خَ: 'will BE taken', with no taker named. L11 · R4
مِنْهَاword 15
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
عَدْلٌۭword 16
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. عَدْلٌ names such a thing: 'a compensation', from the root عدل: to act justly, to equalize, to balance; justice, equivalence, ransom. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. عَدْلٌۭ 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
Indefinite Noun · نكرةAn indefinite noun means 'a' or 'any' one of something — no particular one — and it never wears the definite article ال ('the'); instead it shows this with tanwīn, a doubled end-vowel mark. عَدْلٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'a compensation'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. عَدْلٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ. L2 · R10
Passive Subject · نائب فاعلThe passive subject is the thing the action happens to, lifted into the subject spot of a passive verb and carrying the nominative — shown here by the doubled ḍammah ـٌ on عَدْلٌ. The compensation is what would be taken; who might take it is left unnamed by the verb itself. L11 · R5
'Nor will compensation be taken from him' means that Allah does not accept the disbelievers to ransom themselves — even the whole earth's fill of gold would not be accepted (3:91).
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:48
وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ
(…nor will they be aided.)
Root نصر — to assist, aid, succour, protect · 158 times in the Quran
وَلَاword 17
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 وَلَا opens such a fresh start. L14 · R1
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. لَا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word like لَا meaning 'not', which flips a statement to its opposite. Here لَا denies the final statement: 'they will NOT be helped'. L4 · R5
هُمْword 18
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA detached pronoun is a standalone word for 'I/you/he/they'. هُمْ is the standalone word for 'they' — one of the twelve detached forms — naming those warned. 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 هُمْ 'they' opens this closing statement — a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one; 'will be helped' (denied) is what is said about them. L6 · R2
يُنصَرُونَword 19
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُنصَرُ is an action unfolding now: 'will be helped', from the root نصر: to assist, aid, succour, protect. 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 هُمْ 'they'; the verb-sentence يُنصَرُونَ '(will not) be helped' is what is said about them — the inner sentence itself carries the information, with no separate 'is' needed. L6 · R4
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb describes an action happening now or still to come, and it is recognized by its opening letter — one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت. يُنصَرُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'will be helped', from the root نصر: to assist, aid, succour, protect. L8 · R3
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. يُنصَرُونَ is one of them: its ending ونَ keeps that closing ن, and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary mood. L10 · R10
Passive Voice · المبني للمجهولA passive voice verb leaves the doer unnamed by reshaping its inner vowels; in the present tense the pattern carries a ḍammah ـُ (a small curl) on the prefix and a fathah ـَ (a small stroke) on the second root letter. يُنصَرُونَ shows both — the ḍammah on يُ and the fathah on صَ: 'will BE helped', with no helper named — and none will come. L11 · R4
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on يُنصَرُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they'. L3 · R6
Passive Subject · نائب فاعلThe passive subject is the one the action happens to, lifted into the subject spot of a passive verb and carrying the nominative — the subject's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The و in the ending ونَ of يُنصَرُونَ names those who would be helped, 'they'; a pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. Who might help them is left unnamed by the verb itself. L11 · R5
'Nor will they be helped' means, "no person shall get angry — or anxious — on their behalf and offer them any help, or try to save them from Allah's punishment"; on that Day no helper and no intercessor will assist against the judgment of the Most Great, the Most Just.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:48
So far: “And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be aided.”