When Umar bin al-Khattab (رضي الله عنه) was walking in the market, he passed by a man who was supplicating,
اللهم اجعلني من القليل اللهم اجعلني من القليل
“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’ (supplication) from?” And the man said, “Allah in His Book says:
و قليل من عبادي الشكور
‘And few of My servants are grateful.’ (Qur’an 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.”
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 of them" or "most people” in the Qur’an, you will find -
ولكن اكثرهم لا يعلمون
“And however most of them do not know” (7:187)
ولكن أكثرهم لا يشكرون
- “and however most of them are not grateful” (2:243)
و لكن اكثر الناس لا يؤمنون
- “and however most people do not believe” (11:17).
و آن أكثرهم فَاسِقُون
- “and that most of them are transgressors ” (5:59)
و لكن أكثرهم يجهلون
- “and however most of them are ignorant” (6:111)
بل أكثرهم لا يعلمون الحق فهم معرضون
- “rather most of them do not know the truth so the are turning away” (21:24)
So be of the “few”, whom Allah says about them:
و قليل من عبادي الشكور
- “And few of My servants are grateful.” (34:13)
و ما امن معه الا قليل
- “and none had believed with him, except a few.” (11:40)
في جنات النعيم ثلة من الاولين و قليل من الآخرين
- “In the Gardens of Bliss, A [large] company of the former peoples, And a few of the later peoples.” (56:12-14)
Ibn al-Qayyim (رحمه الله) 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.”
[Found in Kitab al-Zuhd by Ahmad bin Hanbal (رحمه الله), and also in the Musannaf of Ibn Abi Shaybah.] -
May Allah make us of His few servants - ameen