Tafsir of Ash-Shu`ara' 26:184

"And fear the One who created you and the former generations."

Meaning: "And the possessors of jibillah—that is, the creation and nature; or those fashioned upon their states upon which they were built, and the paths which they were destined to follow, who preceded you from the nations."

It has been narrated in a report from Ibn Abbas that al-jibillah is a group that reaches ten thousand, as if it were likened—according to what has been said—to a great piece of a mountain. It has also been said: It is a large group in an absolute sense, as if it were also likened to what was mentioned.

Abu Husayn, al-A‘mash, and al-Hasan (with a dissenting report from him) recited it as (al-jubullah), with a damma on the jeem and the ba', and a shaddah on the lam. Al-Sulami recited it as (al-jiblah), with a kasra on the jeem and a sukūn on the ba', similar to al-khilqah (the creation). In one report from him, it is with a fatha on the jeem and a sukūn on the ba' with a shaddah on the lam in both readings, for the sake of intensification.