And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allāh and the Last Day," but they are not believers.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ
(And of the people)
Root نوس — men, people · 241 times in the Quran
وَمِنَword 1
Resumptive Particle · حرف استئنافA resumptive وَ begins a fresh statement rather than adding a plain item. Here it opens a new topic — a certain group among the people — after the passage on the disbelievers. L14 · R1
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. The part مِنَ ('of') here is such a helper word. L1 · R8
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another and pulls the noun after it into the genitive ending. مِنَ means 'of' or 'from', here picking out a group from among the people: 'and of the people'. L4 · R1
ٱلنَّاسِword 2
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱل means 'the' — one specific, known group. Because the next letter ن is one of the fourteen 'solar' letters — letters made in the same part of the mouth as ل itself — the ل of the prefix melts into it and the ن doubles, shown by the shaddah ـّ — a small w-shaped mark above the letter: ٱلنَّاس, an-nās, 'the people'. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱل ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names people, 'mankind', from the root نوس, men and people. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. نَّاس carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it falls to the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more. نَّاس names people as a whole — a group of three or more — 'the people, mankind'. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the letter. Because نَّاس stands right after the preposition مِنَ 'of', it carries that kasrah ـِ: مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ. L2 · R12
This refers to the hypocrites among the Aws and Khazraj and those who behaved as they did. Allah revealed their traits so the believers would not be deceived by their outer show of belief.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:8
مَن
(…are some who)
مَنword 3
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun hooks a describing sentence onto its meaning; مَن is the one used for people, 'who' or 'the one who'. It means 'those who', and the sentence after it — 'say, We believe' — tells us what they do. L5 · R13
Subject (Mubtada') · مبتدأThe subject is the noun the sentence talks about — its topic — and it stands in the nominative, the 'topic form' usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. مَن 'some who' is that topic here — 'of the people are some who say…'; a little word like مَن keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one — and the saying that follows is what is told about them. L6 · R2
يَقُولُ
(…say,)
Root قول — to say, speak, tell · 1,722 times in the Quran
يَقُولُword 4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يَقُولُ names an action — saying, speaking — from the root قول, to say and speak. L1 · R7
Present Tense Verb · فعل مضارعA present tense verb describes ongoing action and opens with one of the four prefixes أ ن ي ت. يَقُولُ opens with يَ, so the saying is ongoing: 'he says'. L8 · R3
Weak Verb · فعل معتلA weak verb has a و or ي among its root letters that can turn into a long vowel. From the root قول, the middle و surfaces here as the long ū sound of يَقُولُ. L24 · R4
ءَامَنَّا
(…"We believe)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
ءَامَنَّاword 5
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. ءَامَ names an action — believing — from the root امن, faith and trust. L1 · R7
Past Tense Verb · فعل ماضٍA past tense verb shows who did the action by an ending on the base. With نَّا 'we' added, ءَامَنَّا means 'we have believed' — their claim of faith. L8 · R2
Hamzated Verb · فعل مهموزA hamzated verb has a hamza (ء) as one of its root letters. From the root امن, the hamza opens the word as the ءَا of ءَامَنَّا. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is built by adding a hamzah to the front of the root — from امن comes آمَنَ 'believed'. ءَامَنَّا shows that front hamzah in its ءَا, the mark of this form. L12 · R5
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The نَّا ending on ءَامَنَّا is such a suffix, standing for 'we' — the ones claiming to believe. L3 · R7
Doer (Fa'il) · فاعلThe doer is the one performing the action, so it stands in the nominative — the 'subject form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl written above the final letter. The نَّا 'we' ending on ءَامَنَّا is that doer — 'we believe'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
بِٱللَّهِ
(…in Allāh)
Root اله — god · 2,851 times in the Quran
بِٱللَّهِword 6
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that relates one thing to another and pulls the noun after it into the genitive ending. The prefix بِ means 'in', joining their claimed belief to its object: belief 'in' Allah. L4 · R1
Noun · اسمA noun names a person, place, thing, or idea — including proper names. ٱللَّهِ is the proper name of Allah, the One they claim to believe in. L1 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the letter. Because ٱللَّه stands right after the preposition بِ 'in', it ends in that kasrah ـِ: بِٱللَّهِ. L2 · R12
وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ
(…and the Last Day,")
Root يوم — day, time, period · 405 times in the Quran
Root اخر — other, last, hereafter, to delay · 250 times in the Quran
وَبِٱلْيَوْمِword 7
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a particle like 'and' that joins items together, and the joined word takes the same ending as the first. The prefix وَ 'and' links the Day to Allah — 'in Allah and in the Day' — so it too follows a preposition into the genitive. L4 · R4
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition relates one thing to another and pulls the noun after it into the genitive ending. The prefix بِ means 'in', joining their claimed belief to a second object: 'in the Day'. L4 · R1
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱلْ means 'the' — one specific, known thing. Here it marks يَوْم as 'the Day', a known, definite day: the Last Day. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA word that accepts the prefix ٱلْ ('the') is a noun — a naming word. This word carries that prefix and names a time, 'the Day', from the root يوم, day and time. L1 · R1
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. يَوْم carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it falls to the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition, shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the letter. Because يَوْم stands right after the preposition بِ 'in', it carries that kasrah ـِ: بِٱلْيَوْمِ. L2 · R12
ٱلْـَٔاخِرِword 8
Definite Article · أل التعريفThe prefix ٱلْ means 'the' — one specific, known one. Here it marks ءَاخِر as 'the Last', matching the definite Day it describes. L2 · R9
Noun · اسمA noun here is a describing word — Arabic counts describing words among its naming words — and it accepts the prefix ٱلْ ('the'). ءَاخِر means 'the Last', from the root اخر, what is last and comes after. L1 · R1
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is shown by a kasrah ـِ — a small slanted stroke below the letter. ٱلْـَٔاخِر ends in that kasrah ـِ, copying the ending of ٱلْيَوْم, the word it describes, which is genitive after the preposition بِ. L2 · R12
Adjective · صفةAn adjective is a describing word that comes after its noun and matches it in gender, number, ending, and 'the'-ness. ٱلْـَٔاخِر follows ٱلْيَوْم and matches it — both masculine, both definite, both genitive with the kasrah ـِ — 'the Last Day'. L7 · R1
So far: “And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allāh and the Last Day,"”
وَمَا
(…but not)
وَمَاword 9
Circumstantial Particle · واو الحالA circumstantial وَ means 'while', opening a mini-sentence that describes the state of things during the main action. Here it opens 'while they are not believers', describing the true state behind their spoken claim. L14 · R3
Particle · حرفA particle is a small helper word with no meaning standing alone; it takes no ending and does not name or act. The part مَا ('not') here is such a helper word. L1 · R8
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word meaning 'not'. مَا here negates the statement about them — 'they are not believers' — denying the faith they claimed with their tongues. L4 · R5
They utter these words only with their tongues; they emphasize belief in Allah and the Last Day in speech, when that is not the case in reality.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:8
هُم
(…they)
هُمword 10
Detached Pronoun · ضمير منفصلA detached pronoun is a standalone word for 'they', 'you', 'I', and the like. هُم is the standalone word 'they', the topic of the denial: it is they who are not believers. L3 · R2
Ḥijāzī Mā · ما الحجازيةThe Ḥijāzī مَا is the 'not' that works like 'is not': it keeps the topic in the nominative — the 'topic form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the final letter — while its comment picks up an added بِ and so turns genitive, the after-a-preposition ending usually shown by a kasrah ـِ, a small slanted stroke below the letter. هُم 'they' is that topic — a pronoun keeps one fixed shape, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one — and the comment 'believers' follows with the added بِ: 'they are not believers'. L19 · R13
بِمُؤْمِنِينَ
(…are not believers.)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
بِمُؤْمِنِينَword 11
Preposition · حرف جرA preposition is a little helper word that pulls the noun after it into the genitive ending. The prefix بِ here is the extra 'with' added to the comment of the 'is not' sentence, and it puts مُؤْمِنِينَ into the genitive: بِمُؤْمِنِينَ. L4 · R1
Ḥijāzī Mā · ما الحجازيةThe Ḥijāzī مَا keeps its topic in the nominative — the 'topic form', usually shown by a ḍammah ـُ, a small curl above the final letter — and marks its comment with an added بِ. That extra بِ appears here on بِمُؤْمِنِينَ, sealing the denial: 'they are not, in the least, believers'. L19 · R13
Noun · اسمA noun is a naming word. مُؤْمِنِينَ names a group — 'believers' — from the root امن, faith and trust. L1 · R6
Masculine Noun · اسم مذكرArabic treats every naming word as grammatically 'he' or 'she'. This word carries no feminine marker such as a ة at its end, so it falls to the default and is treated as 'he': a masculine noun. L2 · R3
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more. The masculine sound plural in the genitive uses the ending ـِينَ. مُؤْمِنِينَ ends in ـِينَ, meaning the many 'believers'. L2 · R6
Genitive · مجرورThe genitive is the ending a naming word takes after a preposition; for this plural that ending is ـِينَ. Because مُؤْمِنِينَ stands right after the added preposition بِ, it takes that genitive ـِينَ: بِمُؤْمِنِينَ. L2 · R12
Active Participle · اسم فاعلAn active participle is a naming word built from a verb's root to name the one who does the action. Built from the root امن (to believe), مُؤْمِنِينَ names the doers — 'believers' — though the sentence denies that they are any such thing. L11 · R3
The hypocrites lie in their testimony of creed: 'And of mankind are some who say, We believe in Allah and the Last Day, while in fact they believe not.'
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:8
So far: “And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allāh and the Last Day," but they are not believers.”