And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَـٰكُم
(And [recall] when We saved you)
Root نجو — to save, deliver, rescue; secret/private conversation · 84 times in the Quran
وَإِذْword 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَإِذْ 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
Time Adverb · ظرف زمانA time adverb is a naming word that anchors a sentence to the time its action happens. إِذْ means 'when — back then', pointing to a moment already past: the day of the saving. L16 · R9
نَجَّيْنَـٰكُمword 2
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. نَجَّيْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'We saved you', from the root نجو: to save, deliver, rescue; secret/private conversation. 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 نَجَّيْنَـٰكُم that ending is نَٰ, telling exactly who is meant: 'We saved you', from the root نجو: to save, deliver, rescue; secret/private conversation. 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 نَجَّيْ is نجو: to save, deliver, rescue; secret/private conversation — and its last letter is the weak و, so the weakness sits at the very end of the root. L24 · R7
Form II Verb · فَعَّلَA Form II verb doubles its middle root letter with the shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped doubling mark. نَجَّيْ shows that shaddah on its middle root letter ج, marking the shape that makes the action happen to others: We made you reach safety. L12 · R1
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. نَٰ · 'us/our' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — نَجَّيْنَـٰكُم — 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 نَٰ on نَجَّيْنَٰكُم is that doer, 'We'; an attached pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the letter. The ending كُم 'you all' is what the saving landed on; a pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no fathah appears — the accusative is the role it fills. L9 · R5
'When We delivered you from Pharaoh's people' means, 'I — Allah — saved you from them and delivered you from their hands in the company of Musa, after they subjected you to horrible torture.'
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:49
مِّنْ ءَالِ فِرْعَوْنَ
(…from the people of Pharaoh,)
Root اول — to interpret, first, people of understanding · 170 times in the Quran
مِّنْword 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. مِّنْ · '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'. مِّنْ · 'from/of' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
ءَالِword 4
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. ءَالِ names such a thing: '(the) people', from the root اول: to interpret, first, people of understanding. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ءَالِ 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. ءَالِ stands right after such a little word, so its final letter carries exactly that kasrah ـِ: ءَالِ. L2 · R12
فِرْعَوْنَword 5
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea — and in Arabic this includes proper names. فِرْعَوْنَ is a proper name: '(of) Firaun'. L1 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the owner-or-after-preposition ending, usually a kasrah ـِ — a small stroke below the last letter. فِرْعَوْنَ is a non-Arabic proper name, one of the partially flexible nouns that never take tanwīn and show their genitive with a fathah ـَ — a small stroke above the letter — instead of the kasrah; that fathah is what is written on its end here. L2 · R14
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains two naming words into an 'of' phrase, and the owner comes second, taking the genitive — the owner's ending, usually a kasrah ـِ below the last letter. فِرْعَوْنَ is that second, owner word: 'the people OF Pharaoh' — on this foreign name the genitive shows itself as a fathah ـَ rather than the usual kasrah. L5 · R5
So far: “And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh,”
يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ
(…who afflicted you with the worst torment,)
Root سوم — to mark, brand; to afflict, graze · 15 times in the Quran
Root سوا — evil, bad, wicked · 167 times in the Quran
Root عذب — to punish, torture; punishment, torment · 373 times in the Quran
يَسُومُونَكُمْword 6
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يَسُومُ is an action unfolding now: '(who were) afflicting you (with)', from the root سوم: to mark, brand; to afflict, graze. 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. يَسُومُ opens with exactly such a letter: '(who were) afflicting you (with)', from the root سوم: to mark, brand; to afflict, graze. 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. يَسُومُونَكُمْ is one of them: its marker ونَ keeps that ن — written here just before the small pronoun fastened to the word's tail — and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary mood. 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 يَسُومُ is سوم: to mark, brand; to afflict, graze — 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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يَسُومُونَكُمْ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — the doer's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The و in the ending ونَ names the doers, 'they' — Pharaoh's people; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the letter. The ending كُمْ 'you all' is whom the afflicting landed on; a pronoun's written shape is fixed, so no fathah appears — the accusative is the role it fills. L9 · R5
سُوٓءَword 7
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. سُوٓءَ names such a thing: 'horrible', from the root سوا: evil, bad, wicked. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. سُوٓءَ 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
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. سُوٓءَ 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, here the fathah ـَ above its last letter. 'The worst of torment' is what the afflicting drove them into. L9 · R3
ٱلْعَذَابِword 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): ٱلْعَذَابِ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. عَذَابِ names such a thing: 'torment', from the root عذب: to punish, torture; punishment, torment. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ٱلْعَذَابِ 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 as the owner in an 'of' phrase, marked by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. سُوٓءَ and ٱلْعَذَابِ form such a pair, 'horrible torment', and as the owner-word of that pair, ٱلْعَذَابِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L2 · R12
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهArabic says 'of' by chaining two nouns — two naming words — directly together: سُوٓءَ ٱلْعَذَابِ reads 'horrible — torment'. The second word of such a chain, the owner, always takes the genitive — the after-'of' ending, shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the letter — and ٱلْعَذَابِ ends with exactly that kasrah ـِ. L5 · R5
'Who were afflicting you' means, 'They humiliated you,' as Abu 'Ubaydah stated; it was also said to mean, 'They used to exaggerate in tormenting you,' according to Al-Qurtubi.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:49
يُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَآءَكُمْ
(…slaughtering your [newborn] sons)
Root ذبح — to slaughter, cut the throat, sacrifice · 9 times in the Quran
Root بني — yes · 184 times in the Quran
يُذَبِّحُونَword 9
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُذَبِّحُ is an action unfolding now: 'slaughtering', from the root ذبح: to slaughter, cut the throat, sacrifice. 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. يُذَبِّحُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'slaughtering', from the root ذبح: to slaughter, cut the throat, sacrifice. 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. يُذَبِّحُونَ 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
Form II Verb · فَعَّلَA Form II verb doubles its middle root letter with the shaddah ـّ, the small w-shaped doubling mark; in the present tense Forms II, III, and IV are also marked by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl — on the prefix letter. يُذَبِّحُ shows both: the ḍammah on its يُ and the doubled بِّ carrying the shaddah. L12 · R7
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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يُذَبِّحُونَ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — the doer's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The و in the ending ونَ names the doers of the slaughtering, 'they'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
أَبْنَآءَكُمْword 10
Noun · اسمA word whose final vowel mark changes with its job in the sentence is a noun, a naming word. أَبْنَآءَ names sons. L1 · R5
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 reshaping the word from the inside — a 'broken' plural. أَبْنَآءَ is such a reshaped plural: 'sons', many of them, with no added plural ending. 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 letter. أَبْنَآءَ 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, here the fathah ـَ above the ء. The sons are whom the slaughtering fell upon. L9 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on أَبْنَآءَكُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'your': YOUR sons. L3 · R6
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains two naming words into an 'of' phrase, and the owner comes second, taking the genitive — the owner's ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. The ending كُمْ fills that owner slot: 'the sons OF you'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears — the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
The torment here refers to killing the male infants: after Pharaoh's dream that his kingship would be toppled by a man among the Children of Israel, he ordered that every newborn male among them be killed and that the girls be left alone.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:49
وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ نِسَآءَكُمْ ۚ
(…and keeping your females alive.)
Root حيي — to live, give life, revive; life, living · 184 times in the Quran
Root نسو — women, wives · 59 times in the Quran
وَيَسْتَحْيُونَword 11
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ 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. يَسْتَحْيُ is an action unfolding now: 'and letting live', from the root حيي: to live, give life, revive; life, living. 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. يَسْتَحْيُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'and letting live', from the root حيي: to live, give life, revive; life, living. 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. وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ 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
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 يَسْتَحْيُ is حيي: to live, give life, revive; life, living — and not one but two of its letters are weak, ي and ي: a doubly-weak root. L24 · R9
Doubled Verb · فعل مضاعفA doubled verb is one whose second and third root letters are the same letter. The root of يَسْتَحْيُ is حيي — its second and third letters are both ي; in this shape only a single ي is written on the page. L24 · R10
Form X Verb · اِسْتَفْعَلَA Form X verb adds اِسْتَـ to the front of the root. In this present-tense shape that marker stands as the سْتَ right after the tense prefix يَ of يَسْتَحْيُونَ — the form built on the root's meaning of living: they kept your women alive. 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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — وَيَسْتَحْيُونَ — naming the one who did the action. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — the doer's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The و in the ending ونَ names the doers, 'they'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
نِسَآءَكُمْ ۚword 12
Noun · اسمA word whose final vowel mark changes with its job in the sentence is a noun, a naming word. نِسَآءَ names women, from the root نسو — women, wives. L1 · R5
Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as grammatically 'she'. نِسَآءَ · 'your women' is a plural whose final اء belongs to the word's own body rather than being an added feminine ending — so it wears no feminine marker; Arabic simply treats this word as feminine, learned with the word itself. 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. نِسَآءَ is such a reshaped plural: 'women', with no added plural ending. 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 letter. نِسَآءَ 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, here the fathah ـَ above the ء. The women are whom the keeping-alive fell upon. L9 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on نِسَآءَكُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'your': YOUR women. L3 · R6
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains two naming words into an 'of' phrase, and the owner comes second, taking the genitive — the owner's ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. The ending كُمْ fills that owner slot: 'the women OF you'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears — the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
So far: “And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive.”
وَفِى ذَٰلِكُم بَلَآءٌۭ
(And in that was a trial…)
Root بلو — to test, try, trial · 38 times in the Quran
وَفِىword 13
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 وَفِى 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. فِى · 'in' 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'. فِى · 'in' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
ذَٰلِكُمword 14
Demonstrative Pronoun · اسم إشارةA demonstrative pronoun is a pointing word that singles out a specific thing, near or far. ذَٰلِكُم points from afar to 'that' — the saving and all that surrounded it — with an ending shaped for addressing 'you all'; pointing words keep one fixed shape whatever their role. L3 · R8
بَلَآءٌۭword 15
Noun · اسمA word that accepts tanwīn — the doubled end-vowel marks ـٌ ـً ـٍ — is a noun, a naming word. بَلَآءٌ ends in the doubled ḍammah ـٌ and names a trial, from the root بلو, to test, try; trial. 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. بَلَآءٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled — marking it as unspecified: '(was) a trial'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject or main topic of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. بَلَآءٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ. L2 · R10
Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is the naming word a statement talks about — its topic — standing in the nominative, shown here by the doubled ḍammah ـٌ on بَلَآءٌ. 'A trial' is what the sentence is about; the telling part, 'in that', stands before it. L6 · R2
مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ عَظِيمٌۭ
(…from your Lord — a great one.)
Root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector · 980 times in the Quran
Root عظم — to be great, mighty, tremendous; bones · 128 times in the Quran
مِّنword 16
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. مِّن · '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'. مِّن · 'from/of' is one of these relation-words. L4 · R2
رَّبِّكُمْword 17
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. رَّبِّ names such a thing: 'your Lord', from the root ربب: Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. رَّبِّكُمْ 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. رَّبِّ stands right after such a little word and carries exactly that kasrah ـِ on its own final letter — tucked inside رَّبِّكُمْ, just before the small piece fastened to the word's end. L2 · R12
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كُمْ on رَّبِّكُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'your': YOUR Lord. L3 · R6
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive (iḍāfah) chains two naming words into an 'of' phrase, and the owner comes second, taking the genitive — the owner's ending, usually a kasrah ـِ, a small stroke below the last letter. The ending كُمْ fills that owner slot: 'the Lord OF you all'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so no kasrah appears — the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
عَظِيمٌۭword 18
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. عَظِيمٌ names such a thing: 'great', from the root عظم: to be great, mighty, tremendous; bones. 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. عَظِيمٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled: 'great'. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject or main topic of its sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter — doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. عَظِيمٌ ends in that doubled ḍammah ـٌ, the same ending as the trial it describes. L2 · R10
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that comes after its naming word and copies its gender, number, ending, and 'the'-ness. عَظِيمٌ 'great' describes بَلَآءٌ 'a trial': both are 'he'-words, both singular in sense, both indefinite with tanwīn, and both carry the doubled ḍammah ـٌ — a great trial. L7 · R1
Ibn Jarir commented that this part of the Ayah means, 'Our saving your fathers from the torment that they suffered by the hand of Pharaoh is a great blessing from your Lord' — and in the blessing there is a test, the same as with hardship.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:49
So far: “And [recall] when We saved you [i.e., your forefathers] from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment, slaughtering your [newborn] sons and keeping your females alive. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.”