But do they not know that Allāh knows what they conceal and what they declare?
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
أَوَلَا يَعْلَمُونَ
(But do they not know)
Root علم — to know, knowledge · 854 times in the Quran
أَوَلَاword 1
Interrogative Particle · حرف استفهامAn interrogative particle turns a statement into a question, and the prefix أَ is one that forms yes/no questions and combines with other little words. The أَ opening أَوَلَا asks: do they not…? L17 · R1
Supplementary Particle · حرف زائدA supplementary particle is an extra word added for weight — removing it would not change the core meaning. The وَ tucked between the question's أَ and the 'not' is such an extra particle, giving the question its pressing tone. L14 · R4
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. L1 · R8
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle flips a statement to its opposite, and لَا is the one used with present-tense verbs. Here it makes the question's 'not': do they NOT know? L4 · R5
يَعْلَمُونَword 2
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يَعْلَمُ names an inner action — knowing — from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. يَعْلَمُونَ opens with the letter يَ — the 'they' prefix — standing before the root letters: 'they know'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself is the mood sign: kept, it marks the normal mood; dropped, it marks a trimmed mood. يَعْلَمُونَ is one of those five shapes, and its نَ is kept — the normal, untrimmed mood. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on يَعْلَمُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they'. 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 ونَ is that doer, 'they'; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ
(…that Allāh knows)
Root اله — god · 2,851 times in the Quran
Root علم — to know, knowledge · 854 times in the Quran
أَنَّword 3
Accusative Particle (إنّ) · حرف مشبه بالفعلأَنَّ is one of the sisters of إِنَّ — the particles carrying a doubling shaddah ـّ, the small w-shaped mark, that push their topic into the accusative, the pressed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter. أَنَّ means 'that…', introducing what is known after a verb of knowing: do they not know THAT Allah knows. L15 · R4
ٱللَّهَword 4
Noun · اسمA noun names a person, place, thing, or idea — including proper names. ٱللَّهَ is the proper name of Allah. L1 · R6
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is an ending shown by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the last letter — the ending a naming word takes after certain particles like إِنَّ and its sisters. ٱللَّهَ ends in exactly that fathah ـَ because أَنَّ stands before it as its topic. L2 · R11
يَعْلَمُword 5
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يَعْلَمُ names an inner action — knowing — from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. يَعْلَمُ opens with the letter يَ — the 'he' prefix — standing before the root letters: 'He knows', now and always. L8 · R3
مَا يُسِرُّونَ
(…what they conceal)
Root سرر — to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne · 44 times in the Quran
مَاword 6
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word that hooks a whole describing sentence onto what it stands for, and مَا is the form for non-human things: 'that which'. This مَا carries the sentence 'they conceal': that which they conceal. L5 · R13
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the thing the action lands on, standing in the accusative — the landed-on form, usually a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the last letter. 'What they conceal' is what His knowing lands on, and مَا anchors it; this word keeps one fixed written shape, so the accusative is the role it fills, not a mark on show. L9 · R3
يُسِرُّونَword 7
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يُسِرُّ names an action — concealing — from the root سرر: to conceal, hide secretly. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. يُسِرُّونَ opens with the letter يُ — the 'they' prefix — standing before the root letters: 'they conceal'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself is the mood sign: kept, it marks the normal mood; dropped, it marks a trimmed mood. يُسِرُّونَ is one of those five shapes, and its نَ is kept — the normal, untrimmed mood. L10 · R10
Doubled Verb · فعل مضاعفA doubled verb is one whose second and third root letters are the same letter, written once with the doubling shaddah ـّ — the small w-shaped mark. The root سرر repeats its ر, and يُسِرُّونَ shows that shaddah ـّ on the ر. L24 · R10
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb adds a hamzah to the front of its past shape, and in the present tense this family is identified by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl — on the prefix letter. يُسِرُّونَ shows exactly that: its opening يُ carries the ḍammah ـُ, the present-tense signature of this form. L12 · R7
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on يُسِرُّونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they'. 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 ونَ is that doer, 'they', the concealers; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
Al-Hasan said: "What they concealed" refers to when they were alone with each other, away from the Companions of Muhammad — forbidding each other from conveying the news Allah revealed to them in their Book, fearing the Companions would use it against them before their Lord.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:75–77
وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ
(…and what they declare?)
Root علن — to make public, declare openly, reveal · 16 times in the Quran
وَمَاword 8
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a particle that joins words or sentences. The prefix وَ 'and' joins the second thing He knows to the first: what they conceal AND what they declare. L4 · R4
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word that hooks a whole describing sentence onto what it stands for, and مَا is the form for non-human things: 'that which'. This مَا carries the sentence 'they declare': that which they declare. L5 · R13
يُعْلِنُونَword 9
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يُعْلِنُ names an action — declaring openly — from the root علن: to make public, declare openly, reveal. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb is identified by one of the four prefix letters remembered as أَنَيْتُ. يُعْلِنُونَ opens with the letter يُ — the 'they' prefix — standing before the root letters: 'they declare'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes ending in نَ, where that نَ itself is the mood sign: kept, it marks the normal mood; dropped, it marks a trimmed mood. يُعْلِنُونَ is one of those five shapes, and its نَ is kept — the normal, untrimmed mood. L10 · R10
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb adds a hamzah to the front of its past shape, and in the present tense this family is identified by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl — on the prefix letter. يُعْلِنُونَ shows exactly that: its opening يُ carries the ḍammah ـُ, the present-tense signature of this form. L12 · R7
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto the end of a verb. The ending ونَ on يُعْلِنُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they'. 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 ونَ is that doer, 'they', the declarers; a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears — the nominative is the role it fills. L9 · R4
"And what they reveal" means when they said to the Companions, "We believe" — as Abu Al-'Aliyah, Ar-Rabi' and Qatadah stated.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:75–77
So far: “But do they not know that Allāh knows what they conceal and what they declare?”