And “ribbiyyūn” means great multitudes—many thousands.

This meaning accords with the occasion of revelation: what befell them on the day of Uhud when it was said, “Muhammad has been killed.” Earlier, Allah had said:

“Muhammad is no more than a messenger; messengers have passed away before him. If he dies or is killed, will you turn back on your heels? Whoever turns back on his heels will not harm Allah at all. And Allah will reward the grateful.”

This is the verse that Abū Bakr al-Siddīq, may Allah be pleased with him, recited on the day the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, died. He said, “Whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad has died. But whoever worships Allah, Allah is Ever-Living and never dies.”

When a prophet is killed or dies, people—believers and disbelievers alike—face a tremendous trial. Apostasy and hypocrisy arise because his followers’ hearts falter at his death, and because Satan instils in the disbelievers’ hearts such thoughts as: this man’s cause has come to an end, and his religion can no longer endure; had he been a prophet, he would not have been killed or defeated; and other thoughts of this kind.

Allah Most High thus tells us how many a prophet was killed. The Children of Israel indeed killed many prophets. Such a prophet had many followers with him. He might have been killed outside any war or battle. Rather, he could be killed even though great multitudes had followed him. Yet the believers did not lose heart because of what befell them through his killing, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the patient. But they sought forgiveness for their sins, on account of which