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بية L رE عA لRا N ة A غRلAالB مIC تعل
What does “disposition,” “Mount Everest,” and “generations of mankind” have in common?
The root word ja-ba-la.
Jabal in Arabic means mountain (p. jibal). The word for “human disposition” is jibla/jibillat and the word for
“generations of people” is jibilla/jibillat.
The word jabal literally means a peg. Mountains are called jabal because they function like pegs to stabilize the
earth and prevent it from buckling. But, it is also used in the Qur’an to depict the Almighty nature of Allah.
For example, Allah says to Musa e, “You will not see Me, but look at the jabal (mountain), if it should remain
in place, then you will see Me” (7:143). That is, if something as monolithic as a mountain can hold its ground
after it sees the manifestation of Allah, then Musa e will certainly see Allah. But it didn’t, proving that Allah is
greater than huge, towering mountains.
A disposition (jibillatun) like the unshifting nature of a mountain is hard to change into something it is not.
Thus, the same root word.
Regarding jibillun (generations of mankind), Allah says, “And be fearful of the One who created you and the
former jibillat(generations)” (28:184). Generations of people create social conditions like the cultures that shape
our thinking, behavior and the clothes that we wear. In essence, cultures, the nature of man, and mountains are
all monolithic and mighty in their own way.
14 May - June 2020 | AL-MADINAH