Hafiz soon
Al-Baqarah · 2:69

They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us what is her color." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in color - pleasing to the observers.'"

Sahih International

Grammar, phrase by phrase

قَالُوا۟ ٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ

(They said, "Call upon your Lord)

Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran

Root دعو — to call, invoke, pray to; supplication · 212 times in the Quran

Root ربب — Lord, Sustainer, Nourisher, Regulator, Perfector · 980 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

قَالُوا۟word 1

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. قَالُ speaks of an action already carried out: 'They 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 قَالُوا۟ that ending is وا۟, telling exactly who is meant: 'They 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 قَالُ 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. وا۟ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — قَالُوا۟ — 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 وا۟ is that doer, 'they'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4

ٱدْعُword 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. ٱدْعُ is a command: 'Pray', from the root دعو: to call, invoke, pray to; supplication. 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 and adding a helping ٱ when what remains starts with a vowelless letter. ٱدْعُ shows that helping ٱ at its front — a command to one man, Musa: call! L10 · R1

Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb has و or ي among its root letters, and when the weak letter ends the root it is dropped in the command shape, the short vowel left behind signalling which letter was deleted. ٱدْعُ is that clipped command of the root دعو: its final و is gone, and the ḍammah ـُ — the small curl above the ع — is the fingerprint of the deleted و. L24 · R7

لَنَاword 3

Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لَ at the front of لَنَا 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 نَا 'us'. 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 'our/us', naming those the prayer is for: 'for us'. L3 · R7

رَبَّكَword 4

Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. رَبَّ names such a thing: '(to) 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'. رَبَّكَ 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. رَبَّ ends in that fathah ـَ, sitting atop its doubled ب. 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 doubled ب. 'Your Lord' is the One the commanded calling is directed to. L9 · R3

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending كَ on رَبَّكَ 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 كَ fills that owner slot: 'the Lord OF you'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5

يُبَيِّن لَّنَا مَا لَوْنُهَا ۚ

(…to show us what is her color.")

Root بين — to be between, make clear, evident · 523 times in the Quran

Root لون — colour · 9 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

يُبَيِّنword 5

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُبَيِّن is an action unfolding now: 'to make clear', from the root بين: to be between, make clear, evident. L1 · R7

Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present-tense verb is the verb shape that opens with one of the four present-tense prefixes أ ن ي ت; small helper words before it can bend its time and mood. يُبَيِّن wears that present-tense shape, opening with exactly such a letter: 'to make clear', from the root بين: to be between, make clear, evident. L8 · R3

Jussive Mood · الفعل المجزومThe jussive is one of the three moods of a present tense verb — the cut-down mood, whose usual mark is the sukūn ـْ, the small circle meaning the sound stops on that letter. يُبَيِّن ends with exactly that stopped, vowelless ن — the cut-short shape — standing as what follows on the asked-for prayer: He will make it clear. L10 · R8

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 يُبَيِّن is بين: to be between, make clear, evident — and its middle letter is the weak ي, so the weakness sits in the middle of the root. L24 · R4

Form II Verb · فَعَّلَA Form II verb is identified by a shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped doubling mark — on the second root letter. يُبَيِّن shows that shaddah on the ي in its middle: the mark of this form, here making something clear to others. L12 · R7

لَّنَاword 6

Preposition · حرف جرThe small prefix لَّ at the front of لَّنَا 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 نَا 'us'. Though the label reads it as a standalone word, it is written joined after the preposition لَّ and works like the glued-on endings for 'our/us', naming those the clarifying is for: 'to us'. L3 · R7

مَاword 7

Predicate (Khabar) · خبرThe predicate is the part that completes the meaning about the topic, and it stands in the nominative — the completing word's own form, usually a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the last letter. The asking word مَا 'what?' is that completing part, brought to the front as questions are: 'its color [is] WHAT?'; it keeps one fixed written shape, so the nominative is the role it fills. L6 · R3

Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative word turns a statement into a question, and مَا 'what?' is one of the specific question words. Here it asks for the cow's color: WHAT is its color? L17 · R3

لَوْنُهَا ۚword 8

Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. لَوْنُ names such a thing: '(is) its color', from the root لون: colour. L1 · R6

Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. لَوْنُهَا 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

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. لَوْنُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ on its ن. L2 · R10

Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is the naming word a sentence opens by talking about — its topic — and it stands in the nominative, shown here by the ḍammah ـُ, the small curl above the ن. In the little question, 'its color' is that topic: its color [is] what? L6 · R2

Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is what the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter. The little question 'what its color is' is what the making-clear must land on, and لَوْنُهَا anchors it; inside its own mini-sentence the word wears the topic's ḍammah ـُ, so the landed-on role belongs to the asked question as a whole. L9 · R3

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هَا on لَوْنُهَا is such a suffix, standing for 'her' — the cow: HER color. 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: 'the color OF her'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5

So far: “They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us what is her color."”

قَالَ إِنَّهُۥ يَقُولُ

(…He said, "He says,)

Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

قَالَword 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. قَالَ speaks of an action already carried out: 'He said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L1 · R7

Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past-tense verb describes an action already completed. Its plain base shape — the shape Arabic uses for a single 'he' — carries no who-ending glued to its tail, and قَالَ is exactly that bare base: 'He said', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. L8 · 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 قَالَ 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

إِنَّهُۥword 10

Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلإِنَّ adds emphasis — 'indeed' — and changes the topic it introduces from the nominative to the accusative, the pressed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter. إِنَّ carries its doubling shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped mark — and its topic here is the هُۥ glued to it: 'indeed HE says'. L15 · R2

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هُۥ on إِنَّهُۥ stands for 'He' — Allah — the topic إِنَّ presses into the accusative, the pressed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the last letter; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the accusative is the role it fills. L3 · R6

يَقُولُword 11

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يَقُولُ is an action unfolding now: 'says', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. 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. يَقُولُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'says', from the root قول: to say, speak, tell. 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 يَقُولُ 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

إِنَّهَا بَقَرَةٌۭ صَفْرَآءُ

(…'It is a yellow cow,)

Root بقر — cow, cattle · 9 times in the Quran

Root صفر — yellow · 5 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

إِنَّهَاword 12

Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلإِنَّ adds emphasis — 'indeed' — and changes the topic it introduces from the nominative to the accusative, the pressed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter, while the completing part stays in its own form. إِنَّ carries its doubling shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped mark — and its topic here is the هَا glued to it: 'indeed IT is a cow…'. L15 · R2

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هَا on إِنَّهَا stands for 'it' — the cow, spoken of as 'she' — the topic إِنَّ presses into the accusative, usually a fathah ـَ, a small stroke above the last letter; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the accusative is the role it fills. L3 · R6

بَقَرَةٌۭword 13

Noun · اسمA word that ends with the tā marbūtah ة is a noun, a naming word. بَقَرَةٌ names a cow, from the root بقر — cow, cattle. 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. بَقَرَةٌ carries exactly that round ة at its end, so it is treated as feminine: 'a cow'. L2 · R1

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. بَقَرَةٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled: 'a cow'. L2 · R8

Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending marked by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter, doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite — that a naming word takes as the subject or predicate of its sentence. بَقَرَةٌ wears that doubled ḍammah ـٌ: it is the completing part telling what 'it' is, and while إِنَّ presses its topic, this completing part keeps its own nominative form. L2 · R10

صَفْرَآءُword 14

Noun · اسمA noun names a person, place, thing, or quality. صَفْرَآءُ names a color — yellow — from the root صفر: yellow. L1 · R6

Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is the ending a naming word takes as the subject or predicate of a sentence, shown by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter. صَفْرَآءُ ends in exactly that ḍammah ـُ, a plain single curl on its closing hamza. L2 · R10

Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that comes after its noun and copies its noun's ending. صَفْرَآءُ 'yellow' follows بَقَرَةٌ 'a cow' and wears the same nominative ḍammah ـُ its noun wears: 'a YELLOW cow'. L7 · R1

فَاقِعٌۭ لَّوْنُهَا

(…bright in color -)

Root فقع — bright yellow, intense color · 1 times in the Quran

Root لون — colour · 9 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

فَاقِعٌۭword 15

Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. فَاقِعٌ names such a thing: 'bright', from the root فقع: bright yellow, intense color. 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. فَاقِعٌ carries the tanwīn ـٌ — the ḍammah ـُ doubled: 'bright'. L2 · R8

Nominative · مرفوعThe nominative is an ending marked by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the last letter, doubled to tanwīn ـٌ when the word is indefinite. فَاقِعٌ wears that doubled ḍammah ـٌ, the same case as the cow-word it describes. L2 · R10

Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that comes after its noun and copies its noun's ending. فَاقِعٌ 'bright' is a further description of بَقَرَةٌ 'a cow', wearing the same nominative ending: a yellow cow, BRIGHT in its color. 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. فَاقِعٌ carries that shape: the long ا after its ف and the kasrah on its ق — 'one blazing bright'. L11 · R1

لَّوْنُهَاword 16

Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. لَّوْنُ names such a thing: '(in) its color', from the root لون: colour. L1 · R6

Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. لَّوْنُهَا 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

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. لَّوْنُ ends in that ḍammah ـُ on its ن. L2 · R10

Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, standing in the nominative — shown here by the ḍammah ـُ, the small curl above the ن. 'Its color' is what does the being-bright that فَاقِعٌ names: bright is ITS COLOR. L9 · R2

Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of another word. The ending هَا on لَّوْنُهَا is such a suffix, standing for 'her' — the cow: HER color. 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: 'the color OF her'; a pronoun keeps one fixed written shape, so the genitive is the role it fills. L5 · R5

Significance — from the tafsir

Ibn 'Abbas said that "bright in its colour" means a deep yellowish white.

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:68–71

تَسُرُّ ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَ

(…pleasing to the observers.'")

Root سرر — to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne · 44 times in the Quran

Root نظر — to look upon, to see, to wait · 129 times in the Quran

Grammar — lesson evidence

تَسُرُّword 17

Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. تَسُرُّ is an action unfolding now: 'pleasing', from the root سرر: to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne. 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. تَسُرُّ opens with exactly such a letter: 'pleasing', from the root سرر: to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne. L8 · R3

Doubled Verb · فعل مضاعفA doubled verb has the same letter as its second and third root letters, written once with a shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped doubling mark. تَسُرُّ is the root سرر: its repeated ر is written once, wearing exactly that shaddah ـّ. L24 · R10

ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَword 18

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, ن, 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: ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَ. L2 · R9

Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. نَّٰظِرِينَ is such a naming word: '(to) those who see (it).', from the root نظر: to look upon, to see, to wait. L1 · R6

Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every noun — every naming word — as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. Even as a plural, ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَ 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); ٱلنَّـٰظِرِينَ closes with exactly such an ending: not one, but a whole group. L2 · 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 ـِينَ on نَّٰظِرِينَ is that accusative form here. L2 · R7

Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, shown for this plural by its ـِينَ ending. The beholders are the ones the pleasing lands on: she PLEASES the beholders. L9 · R3

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 who does. نَّٰظِرِ carries that shape: the long ā after its ن and the kasrah on its ظ — 'the ones who look'. L11 · R1

Significance — from the tafsir

As-Suddi said "pleasing the beholder" means that it pleases those who see it; Wahb bin Munabbih said, "If you look at the cow's skin, you will think that the sun's rays radiate through its skin."

Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:68–71

So far: “They said, "Call upon your Lord to show us what is her color." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in color - pleasing to the observers.'"”