Have you not considered those who were forbidden from private conversation [i.e., ridicule and conspiracy] and then return to that which they were forbidden and converse among themselves about sin and aggression and disobedience to the Messenger? And when they come to you, they greet you with that [word] by which Allāh does not greet you and say among themselves, "Why does Allāh not punish us for what we say?" Sufficient for them is Hell, which they will [enter to] burn, and wretched is the destination.
Sahih International
أَلَمْ
alam
Do not
Word breakdown
أ
Harf · Interrogative particle?
لمْ
Harf · Negative particledid not
Grammar rules
أَلَمْ (Do not) is a negation word — it makes the next word negative, like "not" or "no".
We add "not" or "no" to negate what follows.
Lesson 19 · Negation & Exceptionsأَلَمْ (Do not) marks a question — it turns the sentence into a question.
We rearrange the English into question form.
Lesson 17 · Questions & Prohibition