Tafsir of Surah Ya-Sin - Verse 51

The Trumpet Blast of the Resurrection

This will be the third blast of the trumpet, the trumpet blast of the resurrection when people will come forth from their graves. Allah says:

فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الاٌّجْدَاثِ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ

(and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord.) Yansilun means they will be walking quickly. This is like the Ayah:

يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الاٌّجْدَاثِ سِرَاعاً كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَى نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ

(The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as racing to a goal.) (70:43).

قَالُواْ يوَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") meaning, their graves, which in this world they thought they would never be raised from. When they see with their own eyes that in which they had disbelieved,

قَالُواْ يوَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") This does not contradict the fact that they will be punished in their graves, because in comparison to what is to come afterwards, that will seem like a nap. Ubayy bin Ka`b, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will sleep before the Resurrection." Qatadah said, "That will be between the two trumpet blasts, they will say, `Who has raised us up from our place of sleep"' When they say that, the believers will respond. This was the view of more than one of the Salaf.

هَذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمـنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

((It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!") Al-Hasan said, "The angels will reply to them in this manner. There is no contradiction because both are possible. And Allah knows best.

إِن كَانَتْ إِلاَّ صَيْحَةً وَحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَّدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ

(It will be but a single Sayhah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) This is like the Ayat:

فَإِنَّمَا هِىَ زَجْرَةٌ وَحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُم بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah, when behold, they find themselves (on the surface of the earth) alive (after their death).) (79:13-14),

وَمَآ أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلاَّ كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ

(And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer) (16:77), and

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِن لَّبِثْتُمْ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while!) (17:52) which means, `We will issue but one command, and all of them will be gathered together.'

فَالْيَوْمَ لاَ تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئاً

(This Day, none will be wronged in anything,) means, with regard to his deeds.

وَلاَ تُجْزَوْنَ إِلاَّ مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do.)

After that, it was said: وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ‌ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّهِمْ يَنسِلُونَ (And the Horn will be blown, and suddenly they will be rushing from their graves towards their Lord. (36:51). Here, the word: أَجْدَاثِ (ajdath) is the plural form of: جَدَث (jadath) which means a grave. And: يَنسِلُونَ (yansilun) is a derivation from: نَسلان (nasalan) which means to walk swiftly as it appears in another verse: يَخْرُ‌جُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَ‌اعًا (they will come out of their graves in haste - Al-Ma۔ arij, 70:43). As for what is said in another verse: فَإِذَا هُمْ قِيَامٌ يَنظُرُ‌ونَ (and suddenly, they will stand up, looking around - Az-Zumar, 39:68), it is not contrary to that, for first came the instant of standing up in wonder and then came the act of racing toward the plains of the Resurrection. There is no contradiction in between these two. Then, as it is already proved from the verses of the Qur'an that the angels will call them to come to the plains of the Resurrection, it becomes clear that the presence of disbelievers on the plain of the Resurrection will not be out of their pleasure, rather, it would be out of compulsion whereby the call of the angels will prompt them to come hastening toward it.

Those who do not believe in the Hereafter pay scant attention to it and remain heedless of it as if it were a faraway thing. Among them, those who are of a frivolous nature will even go to the extent of mocking the concept of the Hereafter. People such as these will remain reckless until the arrival of Doomsday. Then Doomsday will seize them suddenly and in such a way that they will be unable to save themselves. It has been recorded in the Hadith that the Angel Israfil is looking towards the throne (‘arsh) of God with the trumpet (sur) to his mouth awaiting His orders, ready to carry out the command instantly. The blowing of the trumpet will be like the ringing of a bell which signals the end of the examination. Immediately thereafter, the system of the world will change: the stage of the appearance of results will commence, leaving behind the stage of actions (the present world).