Is there a way to disable notification for whatsapp except from specific people?

The only way to achieve it is the following:

1. Open WhatsApp


2. On the main screen, long-press to select a contact


3. After the first contact is selected, tap on all the contacts you don't want to receive notifications from. You will have to select the contacts one by one because there is no "Select all contacts" button (if there are hundreds or thousands, then good luck selecting them)


4. Press the muted speaker icon. A pop-up will appear asking for how long the contacts should be muted. Select the time (don't enable "Show notifications" just in case).

The selected contacts will be muted, their notifications won't be shown except only those that were not selected. Note that if a muted contact calls, you will still receive the notification.