{ وَلَقَدْ أَضَلَّ مِنكُمْ جِبِلاًّ كَثِيراً }

This is an initiation of discourse intended to intensify the rebuke and emphasize the denunciation by illustrating their failure to take heed from others, subsequent to their violation of the covenant. The address is directed toward those who came after, among whom are the disbelievers who are singled out for increased reproach and blame due to the compounding of their crimes. The attribution of "leading astray" (misguidance) to the pronoun referring to Satan is because he is the one who directly carries out the enticement.

Regarding jibillan: Al-Raghib said it refers to a vast multitude, applied to them by likening them to a mountain (jabal) in their magnitude. Al-Dahhak stated that the minimum for a jibill—which is a great nation—is ten thousand. Others interpreted it as simply a group, while some interpreted it as a nation without the descriptor of size. It has also been said that it refers to the innate nature upon which they were created, which does not change, as if it were a mountain; however, this is contrary to the apparent meaning in this context.

Regarding the readings: The two Arabs [Abu Amr and Al-Kisa’i in one narration] and the Hudhail read it as jublan (with a damma on the jim and a sukun on the ba). Ibn Kathir, Hamzah, and Al-Kisa’i read it as jubulan (with two dammas and a light lam). Al-Hasan, Ibn Abi Ishaq, Al-Zuhri, Ibn Hurmuz, Abdullah bin Ubayd bin Umayr, and Hafs bin Hamid read it as jubullan (with two dammas and a shadda on the lam). Al-Ashhab al-‘Uqayli, al-Yamani, and Hammad bin Salamah from ‘Asim read it as jiblan (with a kasra on the jim and a sukun on the ba). Al-A’mash read it as jibillan (with two kasras and a light lam), as the plural of jiblah, similar to fitrah and fitar. The Commander of the Faithful, Ali—may Allah ennoble his countenance—and some Khorasanians read it as jilan (with a kasra on the jim followed by a ya), which is the singular of ajyal (generations/races), meaning a category of people, like the Arabs or the Romans.

{ أَفَلَمْ تَكُونُوا تَعْقِلُونَ }

This is a conjunction to a hidden phrase necessitated by the context; that is, "Did you witness the vestiges of their punishments, yet you did not possess the intellect to realize that it was because of their misguidance?" Or, "Did you not possess any intellect at all, to the extent that you would have been deterred from the state they were in, so that the painful torment would not befall you?"

Talha, Isa, and ‘Asim, in a narration by ‘Abd bin Humayd from him, read it with a ya of the third person, in which case the pronoun refers to the jibill.