(A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time) [56: 39-40].
‘Urwah ibn Ruwaym said: “When Allah, exalted is He, revealed (A multitude of those of old, And a few of those of later time) [56:13-14], ‘Umar [ibn al-Khattab] wept and said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, we believed in you and accepted your message and despite this only a few of us will be saved’. Allah, exalted is He, revealed (A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time). The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then summoned ‘Umar and said: ‘O ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, Allah has revealed something about what you said and made it (A multitude of those of old, And a multitude of those of later time)’. ‘Umar exclaimed: ‘We are pleased with our Lord and believe in our Prophet. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, then said: ‘From Adam to us a multitude of people, and from me to the Day of Judgement a multitude which will only be completed by black herdsmen who say, there is no deity except Allah’ ”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou