The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Yā Sīn – Verse 62

وَلَقَد أَضَلَّ مِنكُم جِبِلًّا كَثيرًا ۖ أَفَلَم تَكونوا تَعقِلونَ

Certainly he has led astray many of your generations. Did you not use to apply reason?

EXEGESIS

Jibillan (generations) is a word that has been used twice in the Quran with similar meaning (26:184 and 36:62).‎[1] The word’s root form describes something hard, solid, thick, and intense; thus, it could imply a densely populated group. Ṭabrisī indicates that the infinitive jibl means disposition; hence, jibill means a group of people who are created with the same disposition. A mountain is called jabal (from the same root) because it is disposed on solidity and stability.

A-fa-lam takūnū taʿqilūn (did you not use to apply reason?) and similar expressions are frequently used in the Quran to invite people to use intellect and apply reason to examine the origin of creation and the philosophy of life. Taʿqilūn is derived from the verb ʿaqala, used for someone who understood a concept, looked into, considered, examined, knew, or studied a thing repeatedly until he knew it. However, the literal meaning is he withheld or restrained something physically.‎[2] The intellect is called ʿaql because it restrains from falling into error or because it withholds the person from indulging in vices.

EXPOSITION

After reminding us of His command and covenant and that we should not worship Satan, this verse invites us to ponder how Satan has managed to mislead many of our generations by looking into the history of the human race. If we ponder upon the history of past nations, we can see how many miseries Satan has brought upon humans who have followed him and what painful and evil fate he wrought upon his followers among the ancient civilisations. The ruins of their cities are in front of your eyes; do you not then apply reason?

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. Imam Ali (a) said about those who worshipped Satan: ‘They made Satan a guide for their affairs, and he made them a snare for him. He has laid eggs [of evil] and made it hatch in their hearts. He crept and crawled in their laps. He saw through their eyes and spoke with their tongues. By doing this he led them to sins, adorned the ugliest deeds for them, he did to them like the one whom Satan makes a partner in his domain and speaks with falsehood through his tongue.’‎[3]
  2. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Therefore, you should fear lest the enemy of God [Satan] infects you with his disease [pride], leads you astray through his call, and marches on you with his horsemen and footmen. Because, by my life, he has put the menacing arrow in the bow for you, has stretched the bow strongly, and has aimed at you from a nearby position, and he [Satan] said: My Lord! As You have consigned me to perversity, I will surely glamorise [evil] for them on the earth, and I will surely pervert them all [15:39].’‎[4]
  3. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Iblīs says to his soldiers: “Cast among them [the children of Adam] jealousy and transgression, both are equal to polytheism in the sight of God.”’‎[5]

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Jibil is pronounced in six ways. One of them indicates the collection of plenty of things, such as a mountain of collected clay that has a collection of plenty of sand and water. In this verse, it means a vast number of people. Satan deviating a large number of people can be understood in two ways, either by distracting people totally away from God and making them worship anything other than God; however, after failing to do that, he empties their hearts from the love of God, so even if they worship God, their hearts would have worldly purposes for it.‎[6]

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

  1. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.‎[7]
  2. And they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.‎[8]
  3. Because we wanted to come to you – I, Paul, again and again – but Satan hindered us.‎[9]
  4. For some have already strayed after Satan.‎[10]
  5. Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve.‎[11]
  6. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.‎[12] 
[1] J b l in the online Quranic Arabic Corpus, < https://corpus.quran.com/qurandictionary.jsp?q=jbl#(36:62:4) >.
[2] Lane, p. 2114.
[3] Nahj, sermon 7.
[4] Nahj, sermon 192.
[5] Bihar, 60/260.
[6] Razi, 26/100.
[7] 1 John 3:8a.
[8] 2 Timothy 2:26.
[9] 1 Thessalonians 2:18.
[10] 1 Timothy 5:15.
[11] Luke 22:3.
[12] Mark 4:15.