Once ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (RA) was walking in the market, when he passed by a man who was supplicating: “O Allah, make me from the few! O Allah make me from the few!” So ‘Umar said to him, “Where did you get this du’a from?” And the man said, “Allah in His Book says, “And few of My servants are grateful.” [Surah Saba’, 34:13] So ‘Umar wept and admonished himself, “The people are more knowledgeable than you, O ‘Umar! O Allah make us from Your ‘few’ servants.”

Often when you advise your fellow brother or sister in Islam to leave a sin, they will respond by saying “Everybody does it, not just me!”, or words to that effect. It is as though they feel reassured in indulging in what most people are doing. Subhan’Allah, if only they look to how Allah (SWT) describes “most people” in the Qur’an, they will find the following Verses:

“And however most people do not know” [7:187];
“And most people do not show gratitude” [2:243];
“And most people do not believe” [11: 17].

And if they are to look for the words “most of them” or “most of you” in the Qur’an, they will find:

“most of you are sinners” [5:59];
“most of them are ignorant” [6:111];
“most of them do not know the truth, so they are turning away” [21:24].

Certainly from the words of Allah (SWT) we can infer that the ‘few’ will display virtuous characteristics that the ‘many’ do not possess. And Allah (AWJ) says the following about the few:

“And few of My servants are grateful.” [34:13];
“But none had believed with him, except a few.” [11:40];
“In the Gardens of Bliss: many from the past and a few from later generations.” [56:12-14].

Dear Muslims, we live in troubled times and a low point in the history of this great Ummah. Despite the vast and growing number of Muslims we have been unable to prevent this dire situation. If we wish to change our state to a good one then we must work for this change, even if we were the only ones amongst the Ummah. Let us work with those who call people back to their Islam, call for the rule of Allah (SWT) and call for the unity of the believers. Let not the fact that you may be few in number deter you from this noble duty. May Allah (SWT) make us of His ‘few’ servants. Ameen.

Ibn al-Qayyim (rh) said,

“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.”

[Kitab al-Zuhd – Ahmad bin Hanbal; and Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah]