Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:13
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 13 of 96
ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ
Translation
many from the past
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'A large company from the former peoples.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note 'thulla min al-awwalin', a throng of the foremost come from the earliest generations, those closest to the prophets, when faith was fresh and racing to good was widespread. Ask yourself: there is a sobering realism here, the golden ages of racing-to-good clustered early, near the source. It resists my temptation to assume every era is equal in ease of faith. Being born late, in a distracted age, I may find the front rank harder to reach, which is not discouragement but a call to greater effort, not less. If the throng of the foremost was thick among the earliest, what does it take to still be counted among them now, so far downstream?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:13 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
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