contradiction in the Holy Quran regarding the meaning of “few” and “thousand”

 Content of the doubt:

Some skeptics imagine that there is a contradiction between the Almighty’s saying: “And a few of the others (14)” (Al-Waqi’ah), and His saying: “And a group of the others (40)” (Al-Waqi’ah).
They ask: How can God state in the first place that only a few of the others will enjoy Paradise and what is in it, then state in the second place that (a group) means: many of them will enjoy what is in Paradise?!

The way to invalidate the doubt:
There is no contradiction between the two verses as these people claim; because:
· The Almighty’s saying: “And a few of the others (14)” specifically refers to the first ones.
· The Almighty’s saying: “And a group of the others (40)” specifically refers to the people of the right.

The details:
The correct understanding of the meaning of the two verses:
1. The Almighty’s saying: “And a few of the later generations” specifically refers to the earlier generations:
The apparent meaning of the Qur’an, and what is understood from the context of the verses, is that what is meant by the Almighty’s saying: “And a few of the later generations” is that among those who enjoy Paradise and what is in it are a small group of the later generations who preceded in submitting to God and believing in His Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace. They are the earlier generations, and the earlier generations from the past nations who preceded in believing in their messengers and prophets are more than the earlier generations from the nation of Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace. This is not surprising, because the past nations were many nations, and among them were many prophets and messengers. There is nothing to prevent the gathering of more of their earlier generations from Adam, peace be upon him, to Muhammad, may God bless him and grant him peace, than the earlier generations of this nation alone[1].
2. The Almighty’s saying: “And a group of others” specifically regarding the people of the right hand:
The apparent meaning of the Holy Qur’an and the context of the verses indicate that what is meant by the Almighty’s saying: “And a group of others” are the people of the right hand, who are the people of good deeds, or those who will receive their book in their right hand on the Day of Resurrection. It is possible that they will be more from the nation of Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - than the people of the right hand from all nations. Because the group[2]includes a large number, and one of the two large numbers may be more than the other, even though both are large, and the fact that the Almighty said: )and a group of others( specifically about the companions of the right hand; because Allah the Almighty said: “So We made them virgins (36) loving, equal in age (37) for the companions of the right hand (38) a group of the former (39) and a group of the latter (40)” (Al-Waqi’ah).
What is supported by this statement is the hadith of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - which was mentioned by Abu Hurairah when he said: When the following was revealed: “A group of the former (13) and a few of the latter (14)” (Al-Waqi’ah), this was difficult for the companions of the Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - so the following was revealed: “A group of the former (39) and a group of the latter (40)” (Al-Waqi’ah). The Prophet - may God bless him and grant him peace - said: “I hope that you will be a quarter of the people of Paradise, rather a third of the people of Paradise, rather you are half of the people of Paradise - orHalf of the people of Paradise - and you will share the other half with them”[3].
With this statement it becomes clear to us that the words of God Almighty: “And a few of the others” specifically refer to the forerunners from the nation of Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - and His words Almighty: “And a group of the others” specifically refer to the people of the right hand from the nation of Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - and this is clear from the context of the verses, and thus the claim that says: There is a contradiction between these two verses is invalidated[4].

Conclusion:
There is no contradiction between the two verses as these people claim, and that is because:
The first point concerns the predecessors of the nation of Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the predecessors of past nations are more numerous than the predecessors of this nation, and there is nothing strange in that, because past nations are many, and among them are many prophets and messengers, so there is nothing to prevent the presence of more of their predecessors from Adam (peace be upon him) to Muhammad (peace be upon him) than the predecessors of this nation alone.
The second point concerns the people of the right hand, and it appears from the verses that the people of the right hand of past nations are not more numerous than the people of the right hand of this nation, because the Almighty referred to the people of the right hand of this nation by saying: “and a group of others,” so it is possible that they are more numerous than the people of the right hand of all nations, because a group includes a large number, and one of the two large numbers may be more numerous than the other.

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[1] The Compendium of the Rulings of the Qur’an, Al-Qurtubi, Dar Ihya’ Al-Turath Al-Arabi, Beirut, 1405 AH/1985 AD, Vol. 17, p. 200, with some modifications.

[2] The group: a group of people.
[3] Hasan: It was included by Ahmad in his Musnad, Musnad of the Companions who narrated many hadiths, Musnad of Abu Hurayrah - may God be pleased with him - (9069), and it was authenticated by Al-Arna’ut in his commentary on the Musnad.
[4] Al-Jami’ li Ahkam al-Quran, Al-Qurtubi, Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1405 AH/1985 AD, Vol. 17, pp. 200, 201. See also: Al-Durr al-Manthur, Al-Suyuti, Dar al-Fikr, Beirut, 1st ed., 1983 AD, Vol. 8, p. 19. Adwa’ al-Bayan, Al-Shanqeeti, Ibn Taymiyyah Library, Cairo, 1992 AD, Vol. 7, pp. 770, 771.