And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who succeeded [them] and a lesson for those who fear Allāh.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَا نَكَـٰلًۭا
(And We made it a deterrent punishment)
Root جعل — to put, place, make, effect, prepare, produce, appoint, fix, begin · 346 times in the Quran
Root نكل — to punish as deterrent, exemplary punishment · 5 times in the Quran
فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَاword 1
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix فَ at the front of فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَا is a conjunction — a small joining word meaning 'and then' — 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. جَعَلْ speaks of an action already carried out: 'So We made it', from the root جعل: to put, place, make, effect, prepare, produce, appoint, fix, begin. 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 فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَا that ending is نَٰ, telling exactly who is meant: 'So We made it', from the root جعل: to put, place, make, effect, prepare, produce, appoint, fix, begin. 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. نَٰ · 'us/our' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — فَجَعَلْنَـٰهَا — 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 نَٰ is that doer, 'We'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the thing the action lands on, and when it is a pronoun it attaches to the end of the verb as a suffix — like the كُمْ in خَلَقَكُمْ 'He created you'. The closing هَا of فَجَعَلْنَٰهَا is that object, 'it' — the punishment that fell — in the accusative role, the landed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the letter, though a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape. L9 · R5
نَكَـٰلًۭاword 2
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. نَكَٰلًا names such a thing: 'a deterrent punishment', from the root نكل: to punish as deterrent, exemplary punishment. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. نَكَـٰلًۭا 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. نَكَٰلًا carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'a deterrent punishment'. 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. نَكَٰلًا 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. 'A deterrent' is what the making produced: We made it A DETERRENT PUNISHMENT. L9 · R3
"So We made this punishment an example" means Allah made the people of this village, who violated the sanctity of the Sabbath, an example via the way they were punished.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا
(…for those who were present)
Root بين — to be between, make clear, evident · 523 times in the Quran
Root يدي — a hand · 120 times in the Quran
لِّمَاword 3
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لِّ at the front of لِّمَا 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
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word that hooks a whole describing sentence onto its meaning. مَا · 'for those' is the relative word Arabic uses for non-human things — 'what' or 'that which' — one fixed shape for any gender and any number: its ending never changes to show its job in the sentence. L5 · R13
بَيْنَword 4
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is an ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the letter. بَيْنَ ends in exactly that fathah ـَ — the fixed ending this where-word always wears. L2 · R11
Place Adverb · ظرف مكانA place adverb is a naming word, fixed in the accusative with its fathah ـَ — a small stroke above the last letter — that tells where. بَيْنَ 'between' is one of the high-frequency ones, chained to the words after it: paired with 'its two hands', it is the Arabic way of saying 'in front of it'. L26 · R2
يَدَيْهَاword 5
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. يَدَيْ names such a thing: '(of) them', from the root يدي: a hand. 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 يَدَيْ shows none of these: it is one of the words Arabic simply knows as feminine, learned with the word itself: '(of) them'. L2 · R2
Dual Noun · مثنىA dual noun refers to exactly two of something, marked by the ending ـَانِ in the subject role and ـَيْنِ otherwise. يَدَيْ wears that ـَيْ shape — its closing ن set aside because the word is chained to what follows: 'the two hands of it'. L2 · R5
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the owner's ending in an 'of' pairing, usually shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the last letter. A dual word shows this role by its ـَيْ shape instead of a kasrah, and يَدَيْ wears exactly that shape — the genitive is the role it fills after the where-word بَيْنَ. L2 · R7
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. يَدَيْ fills that owner slot after بَيْنَ — 'between the two hands' — and the ending هَا chains on as a second owner: 'the two hands OF it'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so its genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هَا on يَدَيْهَا is such a suffix, standing for 'it' — the punished village, spoken of as 'she'. L3 · R6
وَمَا خَلْفَهَا
(…and those who succeeded [them])
Root خلف — to come after, succeed, replace; successor, opposition · 127 times in the Quran
وَمَاword 6
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَمَا 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
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word that hooks a whole describing sentence onto its meaning. مَا · 'and those' is the relative word Arabic uses for non-human things — 'what' or 'that which' — one fixed shape for any gender and any number: its ending never changes to show its job in the sentence. L5 · R13
خَلْفَهَاword 7
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is an ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the letter. خَلْفَ ends in exactly that fathah ـَ — the fixed ending this where-word always wears. L2 · R11
Place Adverb · ظرف مكانA place adverb is a naming word, fixed in the accusative with its fathah ـَ — a small stroke above the last letter — that tells where. خَلْفَ 'behind' is one of the high-frequency ones, chained to the word after it: 'BEHIND it' — those who came after. L26 · R2
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هَا on خَلْفَهَا is such a suffix, standing for 'it' — the punished village, spoken of as 'she'. 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 هَا fills that owner slot after the where-word خَلْفَ: 'the behind OF it'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5
"For those in front of it and those behind it" means the other villages; Ibn 'Abbas commented, "We made this village an example for the villages around it by the manner in which We punished its people."
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
وَمَوْعِظَةًۭ لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ
(…and a lesson for those who fear Allāh.)
Root وعظ — to admonish, warn, advise, exhortation · 25 times in the Quran
Root وقي — to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety · 258 times in the Quran
وَمَوْعِظَةًۭword 8
Conjunction · حرف عطفThe prefix وَ at the front of وَمَوْعِظَةًۭ 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
Noun · اسمA word that ends with the tā marbūtah ة is a noun, a naming word. مَوْعِظَةً names an admonition, from the root وعظ — to admonish, warn, advise, exhortation. L1 · R3
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. مَوْعِظَةً carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: 'and an admonition'. 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. مَوْعِظَةً carries the tanwīn ـً — the fathah ـَ doubled — marking it as unspecified: 'and an admonition'. 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. مَوْعِظَةً carries that doubled fathah ـً on its ة, the same ending as the deterrent it is joined to by وَ. L2 · R11
لِّلْمُتَّقِينَword 9
Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لِّ at the front of لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ 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
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): لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. مُتَّقِينَ is such a naming word: 'for those who fear (Allah)', from the root وقي: to fear Allah, guard against evil, consciousness of Allah, piety. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. Even as a plural, لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ carries no feminine marker — no ة at its end, no final ى, no اء — so it takes the default and is a masculine noun; its ending is the 'sound' plural ending Arabic reserves for masculine nouns. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more of something. 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); لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ closes with exactly such an ending: not one, but a whole group. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the 'after-of / after-preposition' family of endings a noun — a naming word — can wear; on most nouns it is shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke written below the final letter. 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); لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ wears its genitive inside that shared plural ending. L2 · R7
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a naming word built from a verb's root to name the doer; for the derived verb families it begins with مُـ and carries a kasrah ـِ — a small stroke below — before its last root letter. مُتَّقِ shows both: the مُ at its front and the kasrah on its ق — 'those who DO the guarding of themselves'. L11 · R3
"And a lesson for Al-Muttaqin" means a reminder: those who have Taqwa should be aware of their evil behavior, so that what occurred to this village does not befall them as well.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:65–66
So far: “And We made it a deterrent punishment for those who were present and those who succeeded [them] and a lesson for those who fear Allāh.”