WHO ARE THE FEW ?

When Umar bin al-Khattab (‫ )رضي الله عنه‬was walking in the market, he passed by a man
who was supplicating,

‫اللهم اجعلني من القليل اللهم اجعلني من القليل‬

“O Allaah, make me from the few! O Allaah make me from the few!”

So Umar said to him, “Where did you get this du`a’ (supplication) from?” And the
man said, “Allaah in His Book says:
‫و قليل من عبادي الشكور‬
‘And few of My servants are grateful.’
(Saba, 34:13)

So ‘Umar (the Leader of the entire Muslim world) wept and admonished himself,
“The people are more knowledgeable than you, O Umar! O Allaah make us from Your
‘few’ servants.”
Sometimes when you advise someone to leave a sin, they respond with “But everybody
does it, it’s not just me!” But if you look for the words “most people" in the
Qur’aan, you will find that most people:
‫ون‬ َ ‫َول َـ ِك َّن أَكْث ََر الن ّ َِاسال َ يَ ْعل َُم‬
“And however most people do not know.”
(Al-A'raf 7:187)
‫ون‬ َ ‫َول َـ ِك ّ َن أَكْث ََر الن ّ َِاسال َ ي َ ْشك ُُر‬
“and most people do not show gratitude”
(Al-Baqarah 2:243)
َ ُ ‫َول َـ ِك ّ َن أَكْث ََر الن ّ َِاسال َ ي ُ ْؤ ِمن‬
‫ون‬
“and most people do not believe”
(Hud, 11:17)
And if you look for “most of them”, you will find that most of them are:
‫ون‬ َ ُ‫َاسق‬ ِ ‫َوأ َ َّن أَكْث ََرك ُْم ف‬
“definitely disobedient”
(Al-Ma'idah 5:59)
‫ُون‬
َ ‫ج َهل‬ ْ َ‫َول َـ ِك ّ َن أَكْث ََر ُه ْم ي‬
“ ignorant”
(Al-An'am 6:111)
‫ون‬
َ ‫ون ال َْح َّق ف َُهم ُّم ْع ِر ُض‬ َ ‫بَ ْل أَكْث َُر ُه ْم ل َا ي َ ْعل َُم‬
“turning away”
(Al-Anbiya 21:24)
So be of the “few”, whom Allaah ‫سبحانه و تعالى‬
says about them:
‫ُور‬
ُ ‫الشك‬ َ ّ ‫يل ِ ّم ْن ِعبَا ِد َي‬ ٌ ِ‫َو َقل‬
“And few of My servants are grateful.”
(Saba' 34:13)
‫يل‬ ٌ ِ‫آم َن َم َع ُه ِإال َّ َقل‬ َ ‫َو َما‬
“But none had believed with him, except a few.”
(Hud 11:40)
‫ين‬ َ ‫ْآخ ِر‬ ِ ‫يل ِ ّم َن ال‬ ٌ ِ‫َو َقل‬ َ ِ‫َات الن ّ َِعي ِم ثُل ّ َ ٌة ِ ّم َن ال ْأ َ ّ َول‬
‫ين‬ ِ ّ ‫ِفي َجن‬
“In the Gardens of Bliss, a [large] company of the former people, and a few of the
later people.”
(Al-Waqi'ah 56:12-14)

It was advised;
“Go on the path of truth and do not feel lonely because there are few who take that
path, and beware of the path of falsehood and do not be deceived by the vastness of
the Perishers.”
[Found in Kitab al-Zuhd by Ahmad bin Hanbal (‫)رحمه الله‬, and also in the Musannaf of
Ibn Abi Shaybah.]
*May Allaah ‫ سبحانه و تعالى‬make us of His few servants.*
Ameen Ya Allaah