Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
إِنَّ
(Indeed,)
إِنَّword 1
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلإِنَّ means 'indeed' and sits at the front of a topic-plus-comment sentence; it carries the doubling shaddah ـّ (a small w-shaped mark). It pushes its own topic into the accusative — the ending usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the final letter — while the comment about that topic stays in the nominative, the ending usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the final letter. Here it opens the statement about those who disbelieve. L15 · R2
ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟
(…those who disbelieve —)
Root كفر — to disbelieve, reject faith; disbelief, ingratitude · 525 times in the Quran
ٱلَّذِينَword 2
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'who' that hooks a describing sentence onto a group. ٱلَّذِينَ is the plural masculine form, 'those who', and it stands as the topic that إِنَّ 'indeed' opens with; the sentence after it tells us who they are: those who disbelieve. L5 · R13
كَفَرُوا۟word 3
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. كَفَرُ names an action — disbelieving, rejecting faith — from the root كفر, disbelief and ingratitude. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb describes an action already done, and who did it is shown by an ending added to the base. كَفَرُ is that base, and with وا۟ 'they' added it means 'they disbelieved'. L8 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The وا۟ ending on كَفَرُوا۟ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the many who did the disbelieving. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the 'subject form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. The وا۟ ending on كَفَرُوا۟ is that doer, 'they' — the ones who disbelieved; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
'Those who disbelieve' are those who covered the truth and hid it; since Allah has written that they would do so, it makes no difference whether you warn them or not.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:6
سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ
(…it is all the same for them)
Root سوي — to make equal, fashion proportionately, establish · 83 times in the Quran
سَوَآءٌword 4
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. سَوَآء names an idea — being equal, all the same — from the root سوي, to make equal and even. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. سَوَآء 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 'some' something — no particular one — and usually shows this with the doubled end-mark tanwīn. سَوَآءٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ, the double ḍammah that adds an 'un' sound at the end. L2 · R8
Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes when it is the topic or completes what is said about a topic, usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the final letter — whose indefinite form is the tanwīn ḍammah ـٌ. سَوَآءٌ ends in that ـٌ; it is the comment made about the balanced pair that follows, 'whether you warn them or do not warn them', standing nominative in its own right: 'it is all the same'. L2 · R10
Predicate (Khabar) · خبرThe predicate tells you something about a topic, and it takes the nominative ending — usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the final letter, here doubled to the tanwīn ـٌ. The topic سَوَآءٌ speaks about is the balanced pair coming right after it, 'whether you warn them or do not warn them': that whole pair is what 'it is all the same' is said about, with the comment placed first. L6 · R3
عَلَيْهِمْword 5
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. The part عَلَيْ ('on') here is such a helper word. L1 · R8
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another. عَلَيْ, 'upon', joined to the pronoun هِمْ 'them' gives عَلَيْهِمْ, 'for them' — upon whom warning and no warning fall alike. L4 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'them' glued onto the end of another word. The ending هِمْ on عَلَيْهِمْ is such a suffix, meaning 'them', so the phrase reads 'upon them'. L3 · R6
ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ
(…whether you warn them)
Root نذر — to warn; a warner, warning · 130 times in the Quran
ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْword 6
Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is what a sentence talks about — its topic — and it stands in the nominative, the 'topic form' usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. The prefix ءَ opens an equalized pair, 'whether you warn them or do not warn them', and this whole pair stands as the topic that the comment 'it is all the same' is made about; a whole pair like this shows no ending of its own, but the slot it fills is the nominative topic's. L6 · R2
Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative particle is the prefix ءَ (a hamza) that in form turns a statement into a question, like English 'Does…?'. Here the ءَ opens the first half of a balanced pair — 'whether you warn them' — paired with 'or do not warn them' to say the two are equal. L17 · R1
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. أَنذَرْ names an action — warning — from the root نذر, to warn and give warning. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb shows who did the action by an ending on the base. أَنذَرْ is that base, and with تَ 'you' added it means 'you warned' — here in the sense 'you warn them'. L8 · R2
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is built by adding a hamzah to the front of the root — أَنذَرَ, 'warned', from نذر. أَنذَرْ carries that front hamzah (the أَ), the mark of this causing form. L12 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ending تَ stands for 'you', and the ending هُمْ for 'them' — packing 'you … them' onto the single verb. L3 · R7
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the 'subject form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. The suffix تَ 'you' is that doer — the one who does the warning: 'you warn'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R8
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, so it stands in the accusative — the 'landed-on form', usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the final letter. The suffix هُمْ 'them' is that object — the ones warned: 'you warn them'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no fathah appears, but the role it fills is the accusative one. L9 · R9
أَمْ
(…or)
أَمْword 7
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. أَمْ is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a particle that joins two things. أَمْ means 'or', linking the two halves of the balanced pair — 'whether you warn them or do not warn them'. L4 · R4
لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ
(…do not warn them —)
Root نذر — to warn; a warner, warning · 130 times in the Quran
لَمْword 8
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. لَمْ is such a helper word here. L1 · R8
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word meaning 'not'. لَمْ means 'did not': it negates an action while using the present-tense verb form after it, and it trims that verb down to the jussive ending (a sukūn ـْ) — here giving 'do not warn'. L4 · R5
تُنذِرْهُمْword 9
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. تُنذِرْ names an action — warning — from the root نذر, to warn. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. تُنذِرْ opens with تُ, marking a 'you' form; paired with لَمْ before it, it carries a past negation: 'you did not warn'. L8 · R3
Jussive Mood · الفعل المجزومThe jussive is a present-tense verb whose ending is cut down to a sukūn ـْ because a particle like لَمْ stands before it. تُنذِرْ ends in that sukūn ـْ on its last letter, exactly because لَمْ 'did not' precedes it. L10 · R6
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb adds a hamzah to the front of the root and in the present shows a ḍammah ـُ on the opening letter (تُـ). تُنذِرْ carries that ḍammah ـُ on its تُ, the mark of this form: to warn. L12 · R7
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ending هُمْ on تُنذِرْهُمْ is such a suffix, standing for 'them' — the ones warned. L3 · R7
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, so it stands in the accusative — the 'landed-on form', usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the final letter. The suffix هُمْ 'them' is that object here — 'you warn them'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no fathah appears, but the role it fills is the accusative one. L9 · R9
So far: “Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them -”
لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
(…they will not believe.)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
لَاword 10
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 meaning 'not'. لَا negates the present-tense verb after it, giving the plain statement 'they will not believe'. L4 · R5
يُؤْمِنُونَword 11
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يُؤْمِنُونَ names an action — believing — from the root امن, faith and trust. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb describes ongoing action and opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. يُؤْمِنُونَ opens with يُ; with لَا before it, the meaning is 'they do not believe'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes ending in نَ, one being يَفْعَلُونَ 'they do'. يُؤْمِنُونَ has that ونَ ending marking 'they'; here its kept نَ shows it stands in its plain mood after the simple negation لَا. L10 · R10
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) as one of its root letters, shifting its written seat (أ/ؤ/ئ). From the root امن, the hamza surfaces here as the ؤ in يُؤْمِنُونَ. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb adds a hamzah to the front of the root and in the present shows a ḍammah ـُ on the opening letter (يُـ). يُؤْمِنُونَ carries that ḍammah ـُ on its يُ, the mark of this form: to believe. L12 · R7
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ونَ ending on يُؤْمِنُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the ones who do not believe. L3 · R6
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the 'subject form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. The ونَ ending on يُؤْمِنُونَ is that doer, 'they' — the ones who will not believe; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
Allah informed the Prophet ﷺ, who was eager for all people to believe, that none would believe except those for whom Allah decreed happiness, and none would stray except those Allah decreed to stray.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:6
So far: “Indeed, those who disbelieve - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.”