Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:14
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 14 of 96
وَقَلِيلٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ
Translation
and a few from later generations.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And a few from the later peoples.' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note the contrast with the verse before: among the foremost, only 'a few' come from the later generations, the elite front rank thins as the age grows late and distraction spreads. (The right-hand class, later verses show, remains vast in every era.) Ask yourself: this is not a closed door but a narrowing one, the highest rank is harder, not impossible, for those born into a noisy, faithless time. It reframes my era's difficulty as an opportunity: to strive for the front rank now, when few do, is worth all the more precisely because it is rare. Will I let the lateness of the age be my excuse to settle, or my reason to reach for the 'few'?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:14 is discussed in 2 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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