﴿ ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ ﴾

“a good many of olden times,”

(A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time) [56: 39-40]. �Urwah ibn Ruwaym said: �When Allah, exalted is He, revealed (A multitude of those of old, And a few of those of later time) [56:13-14], �Umar [ibn al-Khattab] wept and said: �O Messenger of Allah, we believed in you and accepted your message and despite this only a few of us will be saved�. Allah, exalted is He, revealed (A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time). The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then summoned �Umar and said: �O �Umar ibn al-Khattab, Allah has revealed something about what you said and made it (A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time)�. �Umar exclaimed: �We are pleased with our Lord and believe in our Prophet. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then said: �From Adam to us a multitude of people, and from me to the Day of Judgement a multitude which will only be completed by black herdsmen who say, there is no deity except Allah� �.