ثلل

Core meaning

A large group detached from a mass: a multitude, which the text always measures against another group.

Uses

1. ثُلَّة → "multitude" : a great number taken from a generation, counted against another.

   • «ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ وَقَلِيلٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ» — "A multitude from the first and few from the last" (56:13-14)
   • «ثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْأَوَّلِينَ وَثُلَّةٌۭ مِّنَ ٱلْءَاخِرِينَ» — "A multitude from the first and a multitude from the last" (56:39-40)

Evidence from the text

The word recurs three times in the same sura, always in the balance. The foremost are a multitude from the first and "few" from the last (56:13-14); the companions of the right (56:38) are a multitude on both sides (56:39-40).

One word, two proportions: the ثُلَّة is not counted by a figure, it is measured against the other group.

Distinctions

• قلل — the small number: "few", set against the multitude in 56:14