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 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. لَا · 'not/no' is such a helper. L1 · R9
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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يَعْلَمُ is an action unfolding now: 'they know', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. 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. يَعْلَمُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'they know', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. يَعْلَمُونَ is one of them: its ending ونَ keeps that closing ن, and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary mood. L10 · R10
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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يَعْلَمُونَ — 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 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 is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea — and in Arabic this includes proper names. ٱللَّهَ is a proper name: '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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يَعْلَمُ is an action unfolding now: 'knows', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. 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. يَعْلَمُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'knows', from the root علم: to know, knowledge. 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 its meaning. مَا · 'what' 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
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 or happening that is always tied to a time — past, present/future, or a command. يُسِرُّ is an action unfolding now: 'they conceal', 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. يُسِرُّ opens with exactly such a letter: 'they conceal', from the root سرر: to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. يُسِرُّونَ is one of them: its ending ونَ keeps that closing ن, and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary 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 is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters; in the present tense this form announces itself instead by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the letter — sitting on the verb's opening prefix letter. يُسِرُّ carries exactly that ḍammah ـُ on its opening letter: 'they conceal', from the root سرر: to conceal, hide secretly; joy, happiness; couch, throne. L12 · R7
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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يُسِرُّونَ — 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 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 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 what' 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
يُعْلِنُونَword 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. يُعْلِنُ is an action unfolding now: 'they declare?', from the root علن: to make public, declare openly, reveal. 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. يُعْلِنُ opens with exactly such a letter: 'they declare?', from the root علن: to make public, declare openly, reveal. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present-tense shapes whose ending closes with the letter ن — يَفْعَلَانِ, تَفْعَلَانِ, يَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلُونَ, تَفْعَلِينَ. يُعْلِنُونَ is one of them: its ending ونَ keeps that closing ن, and for these five shapes the kept ن is itself the grammar-sign that the verb stands in its plain, ordinary mood. L10 · R10
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is a verb stamped into the pattern that adds a hamza to the front of its three root letters; in the present tense this form announces itself instead by a ḍammah ـُ — a small curl above the letter — sitting on the verb's opening prefix letter. يُعْلِنُ carries exactly that ḍammah ـُ on its opening letter: 'they declare?', from the root علن: to make public, declare openly, reveal. L12 · R7
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. ونَ · 'them/their' is fastened to the tail of the verb here — يُعْلِنُونَ — 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 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?”