They [think to] deceive Allāh and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not.
Sahih International
Grammar, phrase by phrase
يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ
(They [think to] deceive Allāh)
Root خدع — to deceive, seek to deceive · 5 times in the Quran
Root اله — god · 2,851 times in the Quran
يُخَـٰدِعُونَword 1
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يُخَٰدِعُونَ names an action — seeking to deceive — from the root خدع, to deceive. 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. يُخَٰدِعُونَ opens with يُ, so the trying-to-deceive is ongoing: 'they seek to deceive'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes ending in نَ, one being يَفْعَلُونَ 'they do'. يُخَٰدِعُونَ has that ونَ ending marking 'they', and its kept نَ shows it stands in its plain, ordinary mood. L10 · R10
Form III Verb · فَاعَلَA Form III verb adds an alif after the first root letter, often meaning doing the action toward someone. From خدع, the alif after the خ gives يُخَٰدِعُونَ — their attempt to work deceit toward Allah. L12 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ونَ ending on يُخَٰدِعُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the ones attempting the deceit. L3 · R6
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 ونَ ending on يُخَٰدِعُونَ is that doer, 'they' — the ones who seek to deceive; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
ٱللَّهَword 2
Noun · اسمA noun names a person, place, thing, or idea — including proper names. ٱللَّهَ is the proper name of Allah, here the one the deceit is aimed at. L1 · R6
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending a naming word takes when the action lands on it, marked by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the final letter. ٱللَّهَ ends in that fathah ـَ, because the attempted deceit falls upon Him: 'they seek to deceive Allah'. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the person or thing the action lands on, so it stands in the accusative — the 'landed-on form', usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the final letter. ٱللَّهَ is what the verb يُخَٰدِعُونَ 'they seek to deceive' acts upon, carrying the fathah ـَ of that role. L9 · R3
The hypocrites show belief outwardly while concealing disbelief; they imagine that by this they will mislead Allah, or that their words will avail them with Him — a mark of their total ignorance.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:9
وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟
(…and those who believe,)
Root امن — to believe, faith, security, trust · 879 times in the Quran
وَٱلَّذِينَword 3
Conjunction · حرف عطفA conjunction is a particle like 'and' that joins items together. The prefix وَ means 'and', joining 'those who believe' to Allah as the second aim of their attempted deceit. L4 · R4
Relative Pronoun · اسم موصولA relative pronoun is a word like 'who' that hooks a describing sentence onto a group. ٱلَّذِينَ is the plural masculine form, 'those who', and the verb after it — 'believe' — tells us who they are. L5 · R13
ءَامَنُوا۟word 4
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. ءَامَنُ 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 وا۟ 'they' added, ءَامَنُوا۟ means 'they believed' — the true believers. 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 ءَامَنُوا۟. L24 · R11
Form IV Verb · أَفْعَلَA Form IV verb is built by adding a hamzah to the front of the root — آمَنَ 'believed' from امن. ءَامَنُوا۟ 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 وا۟ ending on ءَامَنُوا۟ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the ones who believe. L3 · R6
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 وا۟ ending on ءَامَنُوا۟ is that doer, 'they' — the believers; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ
(…but they deceive not)
Root خدع — to deceive, seek to deceive · 5 times in the Quran
وَمَاword 5
Resumptive Particle · حرف استئنافA resumptive وَ begins a fresh statement rather than adding a plain item. Here it turns to a new point — that in truth they deceive only themselves. 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 مَا ('not') here is such a helper word. L1 · R8
Negation Particle · حرف نفيA negation particle is a word meaning 'not'. مَا negates the verb after it — 'they deceive not' — and joined with the coming إِلَّا 'except' it narrows the sense to 'they deceive none but themselves'. L4 · R5
يَخْدَعُونَword 6
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يَخْدَعُونَ names an action — deceiving — from the root خدع, to deceive. 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. يَخْدَعُونَ opens with يَ; with مَا before it, it means 'they do not deceive'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes ending in نَ, one being يَفْعَلُونَ 'they do'. يَخْدَعُونَ has that ونَ ending marking 'they', and its kept نَ shows it stands in its plain mood after the simple negation مَا. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ونَ ending on يَخْدَعُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the ones doing (or here, not doing) the deceiving. L3 · R6
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 ونَ ending on يَخْدَعُونَ is that doer, 'they'; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ
(…except themselves)
Root نفس — soul, self, person; one's own self · 298 times in the Quran
إِلَّآword 7
Restriction Particle · أداة الحصرA restriction narrows a statement down to one thing. After the 'not' of مَا, the word إِلَّآ 'except' produces the sense 'only': 'they deceive none but themselves' — the deceit falls back on no one else. L19 · R5
أَنفُسَهُمْword 8
Noun · اسمA noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea. أَنفُس names 'selves, souls' — from the root نفس, soul and one's own self. L1 · R6
Feminine Noun · اسم مؤنثA feminine noun is a naming word Arabic treats as grammatically 'she'. أَنفُس shows no visible feminine mark such as a ة, yet Arabic treats it as feminine — one of the words simply known to be so. L2 · R2
Plural Noun · جمعA plural noun refers to three or more, and one way to make it is by reshaping the word from the inside — a 'broken' plural. أَنفُس is the broken plural of نَفْس 'self', reshaped from within to mean 'selves'. L2 · R6
Accusative · منصوبThe accusative is the ending a naming word takes when the action lands on it, marked by a fathah ـَ — a small slanted stroke above the final letter. أَنفُسَهُمْ carries that fathah ـَ, because the deceit falls upon them: 'they deceive only themselves'. L2 · R11
Direct Object · مفعول بهThe direct object is the one the action lands on, so it stands in the accusative — the 'landed-on form', usually shown by a fathah ـَ, a small slanted stroke above the final letter. أَنفُس is what the deceiving acts upon — 'themselves' — carrying the fathah ـَ of that role. L9 · R3
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word for 'their/them' glued onto the end of another word. The ending هُمْ on أَنفُسَهُمْ is such a suffix, meaning 'their', so the word reads 'their own selves'. L3 · R7
Possessive (Idafa) · مضاف إليهA possessive chain joins two words into an 'of' phrase, and the second, the owner, takes the genitive. Here the attached هُمْ 'their' fills that owner slot on أَنفُس 'selves' — 'the selves of them', that is, 'themselves'. L5 · R5
Allah refuted their way: they only deceive themselves by this behavior, though they are unaware of it.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:9
So far: “They [think to] deceive Allāh and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves”
وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ
(…and perceive [it] not.)
Root شعر — to perceive, know; poetry, poet; sacred symbols/rites · 40 times in the Quran
وَمَاword 9
Circumstantial Particle · واو الحالA circumstantial وَ means 'while', opening a mini-sentence that describes the state during the main action. Here it opens 'while they do not perceive', describing their blindness to the harm they work on themselves. 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 negates the verb after it: 'they do not perceive' the harm they bring on themselves. L4 · R5
يَشْعُرُونَword 10
Verb · فعلA verb is a word for an action tied to a time. يَشْعُرُونَ names an action — perceiving, realizing — from the root شعر, to perceive and be aware. 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. يَشْعُرُونَ opens with يَ; with مَا before it, it means 'they do not perceive'. L8 · R3
The Five Verbs · الأفعال الخمسةThe Five Verbs are the five present shapes ending in نَ, one being يَفْعَلُونَ 'they do'. يَشْعُرُونَ has that ونَ ending marking 'they', and its kept نَ shows it stands in its plain mood after the simple negation مَا. L10 · R10
Attached Pronoun · ضمير متصلAn attached pronoun is a mini-word glued onto another word. The ونَ ending on يَشْعُرُونَ is such a suffix, standing for 'they' — the ones who do not perceive. L3 · R6
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 ونَ ending on يَشْعُرُونَ is that doer, 'they' — the ones who do not perceive; on this attached pronoun the shape is fixed, so no ḍammah appears, but the role it fills is the nominative one. L9 · R4
The hypocrite says the truth with his tongue but defies it with his heart and deeds; he changes just like a ship that moves about whenever a wind blows.
Ibn Kathir (abridged), on 2:9
So far: “They [think to] deceive Allāh and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not.”