And few of the later ones. They are those who believed in Muhammad - blessings and peace be upon him - as well as those without intermediaries, may Allah be pleased with them. The prophets, blessings and peace be upon them, were one hundred thousand and more than twenty thousand. Those who went out with Moses, peace be upon him, from Egypt, were those who believed in him from the fighting men, who were above twenty and below eighty, and they were six hundred thousand. So what do you think of those besides them from the elders and those below twenty from the followers, the children, and the women? How about those besides them from the other prophets, blessings and peace be upon them, who renewed from the Children of Israel and others? It was said: 'The few and the small group are both from this nation.' This was narrated by Al-Tabarani and Ibn Adi from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both. In it is Aban ibn Abi Ayyash, who is rejected, and it was narrated by Ishaq ibn Rahawaih, Musaddad ibn Musarhad, Abu Dawood Al-Tayalisi, Ibrahim Al-Harbi, and Al-Tabarani from the narration of Ali ibn Zayd (p-202), and he is weak from Uqbah ibn Suhban from Abu Bakrah, may Allah be pleased with him, raised and stopped. The stopped narration is more correct. Its application to this nation, whether it is raised or stopped, is correct without any doubt. Thus, all the companions, may Allah be pleased with them, are from this small group, as well as those who followed them in goodness until the end of the third century, and only Allah, the Exalted, knows their number. It is known that the matter diminished after that until the earlier ones among the people became fewer than the few due to the return of Islam to the state it began with from estrangement. 'Islam began as strange and will return as strange, so glad tidings to the strangers.' It is also permissible to estimate: and a small group - meaning a large gathering that perished - from the earlier ones, and few from the later ones, who are the obstinate among this nation.