And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the sabbath, and We said to them, "Be apes, despised."
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ
(And you had already known)
Root علم — to know, knowledge · 854 times in the Quran
وَلَقَدْword 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَلَقَدْ 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
Emphatic Lām & Nūn · لام التوكيد ونون التوكيدThe emphatic لَـ at the front of a word — like the لَ of لَقَدْ — presses down on the statement to say it is really, surely true, changing no ending. Here it seals the reminder: you SURELY knew. L20 · R14
Certainty Particle (قَدْ) · حرف تحقيقThe certainty particle قَدْ, placed before a past tense verb, stresses that the action truly happened. Here it stands before عَلِمْتُمُ 'you knew': you certainly knew what happened to the Sabbath-breakers. L20 · R16
عَلِمْتُمُword 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. عَلِمْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'you knew', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. 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 عَلِمْتُمُ that ending is تُمُ, telling exactly who is meant: 'you knew', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L8 · R2
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. تُمُ · 'you all/your' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — عَلِمْتُمُ — 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 ending تُمُ is that doer, 'you all' — the ones who knew; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
This Ayah means: O Jews! Remember that Allah sent His torment on the village that disobeyed Him and broke their pledge and their covenant to observe the sanctity of the Sabbath.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
ٱلَّذِينَ ٱعْتَدَوْا۟ مِنكُمْ
(…about those who transgressed among you)
Root عدو — to be an enemy, enmity, hostility, to transgress · 106 times in the Quran
ٱلَّذِينَword 3
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'who' or 'which' that hooks a whole describing sentence onto whoever or whatever it points to. ٱلَّذِينَ · 'those who' is the masculine plural form — 'those who' — used when it points to a group of people. Its shape is fixed: this word never changes its ending to show its job in the sentence. L5 · R13
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 slanted stroke above the last letter. 'Those who transgressed' are the ones the knowing landed on; ٱلَّذِينَ keeps one fixed written shape, so no fathah appears — the accusative is the role it fills. L9 · R3
ٱعْتَدَوْا۟word 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. ٱعْتَدَ speaks of an action already carried out: 'transgressed', from the root عدو: to be an enemy, enmity, hostility, to transgress. 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 ٱعْتَدَوْا۟ that ending is وْا۟, telling exactly who is meant: 'transgressed', from the root عدو: to be an enemy, enmity, hostility, to transgress. 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 ٱعْتَدَ is عدو: to be an enemy, enmity, hostility, to transgress — and its last letter is the weak و, so the weakness sits at the very end of the root. L24 · R7
Form VIII Verb · اِفْتَعَلَA Form VIII verb is identified by an extra ت tucked in just after the first root letter. ٱعْتَدَ shows exactly that: the root's ع, then the inserted تَ, then the د — the mark of this form: 'they transgressed'. 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. وْا۟ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — ٱعْتَدَوْا۟ — 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 ending وْا۟ is that doer, 'they' — the transgressors; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
مِنكُمْword 5
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. مِن · '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'. مِن · '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. كُمْ · 'you all/your' hangs on the little relation-word in مِنكُمْ, governed by the word it is fastened to. L3 · R6
فِى ٱلسَّبْتِ
(…concerning the sabbath,)
Root سبت — Sabbath, Saturday, day of rest · 9 times in the Quran
فِىword 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. 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
ٱلسَّبْتِword 7
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, س, 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: ٱلسَّبْتِ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. سَّبْتِ names such a thing: 'the (matter of) Sabbath', from the root سبت: Sabbath, Saturday, day of rest. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. ٱلسَّبْتِ 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. سَّبْتِ stands right after such a little word, so its final letter carries exactly that kasrah ـِ: ٱلسَّبْتِ. L2 · R12
They used deceitful means to avoid honoring the Sabbath: placing nets, ropes and artificial pools of water for fishing before the Sabbath, then collecting the fish during the night after the Sabbath ended.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
So far: “And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the sabbath,”
فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ
(…and We said to them,)
Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran
فَقُلْنَاword 8
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 فَ · 'then' at the front of فَقُلْنَا opens such a fresh start. L14 · R1
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. قُلْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'So We said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. 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 فَقُلْنَا that ending is نَا, telling exactly who is meant: 'So We said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. 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 قُلْ is قول: to say, speak, tell — 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. نَا · 'us/our' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — فَقُلْنَا — 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 ending نَا is that doer, 'We'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
لَهُمْword 9
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لَ at the front of لَهُمْ is a preposition — a little helper word meaning 'to/for' that relates one thing to another. A preposition 'pulls' the word that follows it into the genitive relationship — the 'of / in / with' role a word plays after such a little helper — though not every word shows that role with the same visible ending. L4 · R1
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA pronoun is a mini-word standing in for a name, here هُمْ 'them'. Though the label reads it as a standalone word, it is written joined after the preposition لَ and works like the glued-on endings for 'their/them', naming those addressed: 'to them'. L3 · R7
كُونُوا۟ قِرَدَةً خَـٰسِـِٔينَ
(…"Be apes, despised.")
Root كون — to be, exist, happen · 1,390 times in the Quran
Root قرد — apes · 3 times in the Quran
Root خسا — to drive away, to reject · 4 times in the Quran
كُونُوا۟word 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. كُونُ is a command: 'Be', from the root كون: to be, exist, happen. L1 · R7
Imperative Verb · فعل أمرAn imperative verb is a direct command addressed to 'you', formed from the present-tense verb by removing its opening prefix. كُونُوا۟ is that command shape aimed at a group — its ending وا۟ points the order at 'you all': be! L10 · R1
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb has و or ي among its root letters, and a middle weak letter hides behind a long alif in the past tense — كَانَ 'he was' is really the root كون. In this command shape the disguise falls away: the root's middle و stands in plain view as the long و of كُونُوا۟. L24 · R4
Kāna Verb · كان وأخواتهاكَانَ is an incomplete verb: it keeps its topic in the nominative — the topic's form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter — and puts its comment into the accusative, usually a fathah ـَ, often doubled to tanwīn ـً. Here the topic is the وا۟ 'you all' — a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so the nominative is the role it fills — and the comment قِرَدَةً wears exactly that doubled fathah ـً: 'BE apes'. L18 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending وا۟ on كُونُوا۟ is such a suffix, standing for 'you all'. L3 · R6
قِرَدَةًword 11
Noun · اسمA word that ends with the tā marbūtah ة is a noun, a naming word. قِرَدَةً names apes, from the root قرد — apes. L1 · R3
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. قِرَدَةً is treated as 'he' — a masculine noun: the ة at its end belongs to this word's plural shape rather than serving as a 'she' marker. 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. قِرَدَةً is such a reshaped plural: apes, many of them. L2 · 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. قِرَدَةً carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled: 'apes'. L2 · R8
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is an ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the letter — doubled to tanwīn ـً when the word is indefinite. قِرَدَةً carries that doubled fathah ـً on its ة: it is the comment of the command 'be', the part the كان-family presses into this form. L2 · R11
خَـٰسِـِٔينَword 12
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. خَٰسِـِٔينَ is such a naming word: 'despised', from the root خسا: to drive away, to reject. L1 · R6
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the landed-on ending, usually a fathah ـَ — a small stroke above the letter. Words with the ـُونَ/ـِينَ plural ending show their case differently: only the subject form ـُونَ looks distinct, and ـِينَ serves for the accusative. The ـِٔينَ closing خَٰسِـِٔينَ is that accusative form here, matching the apes-word it describes. L2 · R7
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that follows its noun and matches it. خَٰسِـِٔينَ 'despised' follows قِرَدَةً 'apes' and matches it: both speak of many, both are treated as 'he', both carry the accusative role, and neither wears 'the': 'apes, DESPISED ones'. L7 · R1
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a naming word built on the pattern فَاعِل — first root letter, then a long ā, then a kasrah ـِ before the last root letter — naming the one in the action's state. خَٰسِـِٔينَ carries that shape: the long ā after its خ and the pattern's kasrah ـِ on the س — the ع-position of فَاعِل — while the kasrah of the final ـِينَ belongs to the case ending, not the pattern: 'ones despised and driven away'. L11 · R1
Qatadah said, "These people were turned into howling monkeys with tails, after being men and women"; Ibn 'Abbas said they perished after three days without offspring. Their evil deeds appeared lawful on the surface but were in reality wicked, so their punishment was compatible with their crime.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
So far: “And you had already known about those who transgressed among you concerning the sabbath, and We said to them, "Be apes, despised."”