19وَأَنَّهُ لَمّا قامَ عَبدُ اللَّهِ يَدعوهُ كادوا يَكونونَ عَلَيهِ لِبَدًاMuhammad AsadYet [thus it is] that whenever a servant of God stands up in prayer to Him, they [who are bent on denying the truth] would gladly overwhelm him with their crowds.1Lit, "would almost be upon him in crowds (libad, sing. libdah )" - i.e., with a view to "extinguishing God's [guiding] light" (Tabari, evidently alluding to 9:32). Most of the commentators assume that the above verse refers to the Prophet Muhammad and the hostility shown to him by his pagan contemporaries. While this may have been so in the first instance, it is obvious that the passage has a general import as well, alluding to the hostility shown by the majority of people, at all times and in all societies, to a minority or an individual who stands up for a self-evident - but unpopular - moral truth. (In order to be understood fully, the above verse should be read in conjunction with 19:73-74 and the corresponding notes.)