وَنُفِخَ فِي الصّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّماواتِ وَمَن فِي الأَرضِ إِلّا مَن شاءَ اللَّهُ ۖ ثُمَّ نُفِخَ فيهِ أُخرىٰ فَإِذا هُم قِيامٌ يَنظُرونَ
And the trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens will swoon and whoever is on the earth, except whomever Allah wishes. Then it will be blown a second time, behold, they will rise up, looking on!
EXEGESIS
Ṣūr: trumpet. It was traditionally made out of the horns of an animal such as a cow, but also out of silver. Trumpets were used as signals to attack or retreat in wars, as an alarm, and in important ceremonies and occasions. The Jewish New Year’s Day (Rosh Hashana) is also called the Day of Trumpets (Leviticus 23:24).
In the Quran, the trumpet is of the same category as the pen (qalam), the tablet (lawḥ), the Throne (ʿarsh) and the seat (kursī). They all refer to certain transcendent realities that have been described by terms that would best capture and convey their reality. However, we should keep in mind that our language is as limited as our knowledge, our experience, and our world; and that there are many realms of existence that are beyond our comprehension.
The blowing of the trumpet has been mentioned in ten verses in the Quran. The current verse clearly indicates that the trumpet will be blown twice: once at the end of this phase of creation, and once at the beginning of resurrection. The other verses only speak about the second blow (6:73, 18:99, 20:102, 23:101, 36:51, 50:21, 69:13, 78:18) except for one verse which is very similar to the current verse: The day when the trumpet will be blown, whoever is in the heavens will be terrified and whoever is on the earth, except whomever Allah may wish, and all will come to Him in utter humility (27:87). There are some other terms that refer to the same event: 1. Cry (ṣayḥah, in 36:49, 36:53, 38:15, 50:42). 2. Shout (zajrah, in 37:19, 79:13). 3. Nāqūr (74:8), which is also translated as trumpet (perhaps based on the above Quranic verses), but it specifically concerns the aspect of having a loud, piercing, and ear-splitting sound.
Based on the Quran, both blows of the trumpet (or both cries) will be sudden and unexpected (36:49, 38:15, 69:13). The first blow will cause almost all living creatures to swoon out of terror (this verse and 27:87). The second blow will cause everyone to be raised to life from their graves (this verse and 50:42), scramble toward God in groups (36:51, 78:18), and be gathered in one place (18:99, 36:53).
Overall, there are four aspects and meanings associated with the blowing of the trumpet in the Holy Quran: 1. A trumpet is blown to indicate the end of one stage and the beginning of another. This aspect is intended in the verses that talk about the end of this world as well as those that talk about the beginning of the next. It might be for this aspect that most of the verses talk about only one blow, as the two blows are somewhat merged together. 2. The blowing of a trumpet is often unexpected and thus terrifying. This aspect is intended in the verses that talk about the event as something sudden and dreadful. 3. A trumpet is blown to gather and move everyone together, such as in a caravan or a war. This is perhaps the most emphasised aspect in the Quran: the trumpet will be blown, and We shall gather them all (18:99); The day the trumpet will be blown, and you will come in groups (78:18). 4. The term ‘blow’ (nafkh) is reminiscent of God’s blowing of His spirit into mankind (15:29, 32:9, 38:72). Thus, the blowing of the trumpet, much like that initial blow, indicates a return to life. In other words, the trumpet is a means of blowing life into the dead. This aspect is probably not intended in the verses that talk about the first blow (which causes death), or it might be intended in the sense that it is a ‘blow of death’ that counters the initial ‘blow of life’.
It has been narrated from Qatādah that ṣūr is the plural of ṣūrah (form), meaning the forms of creatures. If so, the blowing of ṣūr means that it will be blown in the existential forms of the creatures, thus giving them life (or ‘giving’ them death). It is also narrated that Qatādah used to pronounce the term as al-ṣuwar, which would definitely be the plural of ṣūrah. However, this is not a common or reliable recitation. Furthermore, it is grammatically unsupported by the use of singular masculine pronoun (fī-hi; ‘it’) instead of singular or plural feminine (fī-hā or fī-hinna).
Some mystics were perhaps inspired by these notions when they talked about how our whole life and existence is a matter of a blow, as Ḥāfiẓ said: ‘Our whole life is based on a wind!’ Another subtle inference from the term blow is that the death and resurrection of all beings is as easy and simple to God as blowing in a trumpet. Your creation and your resurrection are not but as of a single soul (31:28).
Ṣaʿiqa is from the same root as ṣāʿiqah, meaning thunderbolt. When used as a verb in the Quran, it means to swoon and faint, as if one is thunder-struck. Some exegetes (such as Suddī) have interpreted it as dying, which could be a result of an extreme case of fainting. There could be two subtle wisdoms for using swoon instead of death: 1. This term (ṣaʿiqa) conveys the terrifying aspect of the events at the end of this world and the beginning of the resurrection (27:87). 2. It is compatible with the fact that the beings do not completely annihilate at death, but their spirits subsist at another plane of existence, somewhat like a hibernating state.
Thumma: then. It apparently indicates that the second blow will not occur right after the first, but there will be a lapse between the two. Then the usage of the letter fāʾ shows that they will rise up right away with the second blow, suddenly and unexpectedly.
The verbs blow and swoon (nufikha and ṣaʿiqa) are in past tense, which is used to indicate the certainty of a future event. The same is seen in the verbs of the following verses until the end of the chapter.
Qiyām is the plural of qāʾim, meaning standing. It apparently means being resurrected and raised to life. It contrasts the state of fainting and swooning due to the trumpet. Hence, it does not necessarily contradict verses that say that the people will be rushing toward their Lord and their reckoning (36:51, 70:43). Other possible meanings for qiyām are: 1. It refers to an initial state of the creatures right upon resurrection, where they stand without movement due to shock and confusion. 2. They will be standing by, ready to follow God’s command, in complete submission. 3. They will be anticipating what will happen next. All of these possibilities also apply to yanẓurūna.
Yanẓurūna: look, behold. There are a few possible meanings for this: 1. They will be all awake and looking on with attention. This sense is confirmed by the attribute qiyām, which indicates a state of vigilance. 2. It means being present in a scene and witnessing an event. This sense is found in many Quranic usages of the term. 3. They will be looking with confusion and bewilderment. This sense is confirmed by the first part of the verse and the previous verse, as they describe a total transformation of the entire universe. 4. They will be awaiting what is to come next. This sense is confirmed by the next verse, which talks about the records, witnesses, and judgement, and has other Quranic usages as well. It could also complement the second meaning. 5. They will be standing ready for God’s order to follow. This is confirmed by the fact that God will have an absolute kingdom and dominion on that day (40:16) and everyone will be obedient to His call (17:52). Overall, all of these aspects and elements could hold, as they all have Quranic evidence. It will be only a single shout and, behold, they will look on (37:19).
EXPOSITION
After describing the total submission of the heavens and the earth to God’s power on the Day of Resurrection, this verse discusses the utter powerlessness of their inhabitants. The blowing of the trumpet will mark the termination of this stage of creation (the current life in this world), whereby everyone will swoon and faint, regardless of how much wealth, power, technology, and material achievement they have. Apparently, earth and heavens in this verse refer to the natural and the supernatural worlds, respectively. Thus, whoever is on the earth includes all living creatures, including animals and people. Whoever is in the heavens refers to angels and other immaterial beings.
… except whomever Allah wishes. This exception briefly indicates that there will be some beings that will continue to live and exist between the two blows of the trumpet. There are several narrations that identify those who will be exempted. The next verse might also hint at who the exempted individuals will be: the prophets and the witnesses. More generally speaking, the two blows of the trumpet indicate a transition from one mode of existence to another.
The following verse may also provide some insight into this: The day when the trumpet will be blown, whoever is in the heavens will be terrified and whoever is on the earth, except whomever Allah may wish, and all will come to Him in utter humility (27:87). All will come to Him in utter humility: this includes two groups: 1. Those who were already humble to God, who will be exempted from the terror on that day. 2. Those who will be humbled toward God by the blow of the trumpet.
Another possibility is that the exception is only to indicate God’s all-prevailing will and power: all command that day will belong to Allah (82:19). In other words, they will all swoon because of His wish; but had He wished otherwise, they would not have swooned. This usage is seen in 11:108 and 87:6-7.
The second blow of the trumpet will mark the onset of the Day of Resurrection, when all of the dead shall be raised to life: they will rise up, looking on. Furthermore, when the trumpet is blown, behold, there they will be, scrambling from their graves towards their Lord (36:51). They will be looking on stunned and speechless, because of facing what they least expected, beholding what they had rejected, and realising the immensity of that day and the severity of God’s punishment (22:1-2). They will be looking toward their Lord and His decree instead of resorting to one another for help as they used to do in this world, because When the trumpet is blown, there will be no ties between them on that day, nor will they ask [about] each other (23:101).
Some will be turning their eyes around, and some will be gazing without blinking; puzzled and dumbstruck, wondering what will be done to them, beholding how the heavens and the earth have transformed, being taken by the call of the caller who summons them to reckoning, seeing how their parents have no affection for them anymore as they are busy with their own affairs, and looking at their opponents who will raise charges against them. The day when the eyes will be glazed; scrambling with their heads upturned, there will be a fixed gaze in their eyes and their hearts will be vacant (14:42-43).
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- Imam Ali (a) depicted the terrifying blow of the trumpet and its aftermath as follows: ‘When the trumpet is blown, every living soul will expire and every voice will be muted. The high mountains and the hard rocks will crumble [to pieces] so that their hard stones will turn into moving sand, and their bases will become level. Then no intercessor will intercede, no close friend will be of any benefit, and no excuse will be of any avail.’
- According to abundant narrations (some of which are presented below), the ‘owner of the trumpet’ is Isrāfīl, who is one of the archangels of God. But there are also some narrations that talk about two angels as the owners of the trumpet, or the owners of two horns according to one narration. These two angels are awaiting God’s command to blow into the trumpet.
Notes: 1. Some have suggested that Gabriel is the other angel that holds the trumpet and will blow into it. 2. One can argue that Isrāfīl has his own agents and assistant angels that work under his authority, just like the Angel of Death. These narrations might refer to the different levels of implementation of God’s decree, which is a Quranic principle. 3. The two angels might be a reference to the two ends of the trumpet (see the next hadith), whereby one end (one angel) is the means of death and resurrection of immaterial beings, while the other end is the means of death and resurrection of corporeal beings. At any rate, we must bear in mind that the angels and the trumpet are not inanimate objects, but are means and instruments of transcendent natures through which God’s decrees and effusions reach the lower planes of existence. Therefore, all of these points could be true since there are many planes of existence in the universe.
- Imam al-Sajjād (a) said: ‘The trumpet is a huge horn, with one head and two ends, one toward the earth and one toward the heaven. The distance between the two ends is as much as the distance between the lowest seventh earth and the highest seventh heaven. There are as many holes in it as the spirits of the creatures. Its mouth is as wide as the distance between the earth and the heaven. There will be three blows in the trumpet: the blow of terror, the blow of death, and the blow of resurrection. When the days of this world expire, God, mighty and majestic is He, will command Isrāfīl to blow the blow of terror. When the angels see him descend with the trumpet they will say: “Truly God has decreed the death of the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth.” Isrāfīl will descend to Jerusalem, face the Kaaba, and blow the trumpet once. This is what God has described: The day when the trumpet will be blown, whoever is in the heavens will be terrified and whoever is on the earth, except whomever Allah may wish, and all will come to Him in utter humility [27:87] until where He says: Whoever brings virtue shall receive [a reward] better than it; and they shall be secure from terror on that day [27:89]. There the earth will quake, every suckling female will neglect what she suckled, and every pregnant female will deliver her burden [22:2]. The people will stumble and fall on one another as if they are drunk, yet they will not be drunken [22:2], but it is the immensity of the terror that they face. The beards of the youth will turn white due to fear, and devils will fly, escaping to every corner of the earth. Were it not that the Almighty God preserves the spirits of the people in their bodies, they would certainly expire out of the terror of that blow. That state will continue as long as the Almighty God wills. Then God will order Isrāfīl to blow the blow of swoon in the trumpet. When the sound exits from the end that is pointed at the inhabitants of the earth, all human beings, jinn, devils, and other living creatures on the earth will faint and die. When the sound exits from the end that is pointed at the inhabitants of the heavens, every living creature in the heavens will faint and die. God says: except whomever Allah wishes, and that will be Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, and ʿIzrāʾīl (the Angel of Death). They are the ones that God has willed [to stay alive]. Then God will say: “O Angel of Death! Who remains of My creatures?” He will reply: “My Lord, You are the living one that does not die. There remain Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, and I.” So God will command him to take the lives of the other three. Then God will say: “O Angel of Death! Who remains?” He will answer: “There remains Your weak and poor servant, the Angel of Death!” God will command: “Die, O Angel of Death, by My decree!” So the Angel of Death will die with such a loud cry that it would have killed all mankind had they been alive. The Angel of Death will also exclaim: “Had I known that giving up the spirit is so bitter, intense, and painful, I would have been more lenient when taking the souls of the believers.” … Then the Almighty God will tell Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, ʿIzrāʾīl, and the carriers of the Throne to rise back to life by His command. God will order Isrāfīl to take the trumpet in his hand, and will order the spirits of the creatures to enter therein. Then God will command Isrāfīl to blow in the trumpet for resurrection. There will be forty years between the two blows. So the spirits will come out of the trumpet as if they were scattered locusts [54:7], filling the distance between the heaven and the earth. The spirits will enter the bodies that are lying in the earth asleep as if they are dead. Each spirit will enter its own body through its nose and will rise to life by the decree of the Almighty God. The earth will split open and let them out, as He says: The day when they emerge from the graves, hastening, as if racing toward a target, with a humbled look [in their eyes], overcast by abasement. That is the day they had been promised [70:43-44]. And the Almighty also says: Then it will be blown a second time, behold, they will rise up, looking on! Then He will call them to the plane of resurrection, where God orders the sun to descend from the fourth heaven to the lowest heaven. It will shine on the heads of the people from such a close distance that they will start sweating due to heat and hardship, to the extent that they will immerse in their sweat. Then they will be raised barefooted, naked, and thirsty, while their tongues hang over their mouths [out of thirst]. At that point they will weep until they run out of tears, whereby they will start weeping blood.’ When the Imam got to this he started mourning and crying like a mother who has lost her child. ‘Woe upon me, for not spending my life in God’s worship and obedience so that I may be among the saved and the felicitous.’
Notes: 1. An abridged version of this narration is reported with some differences in some older sources. 2. ‘As long as God wills’ means that only God has this knowledge. This might partly be due to our limited capacity in grasping a realm of a completely different nature than ours. 3. The hadith shows that what is meant by earth is the corporeal world. 4. The hadith also suggests that ṣaʿiqa in this verse means death. 5. The events on the Day of Resurrection will be so dreadful, severe, and painful that even ‘the master of the worshippers and the adornment of My saints’ felt insecure about them. May God have mercy on our ignorance and heedlessness.
- When the Prophet recited this verse for the people, he was asked: ‘O Messenger of God, who are those whom the Almighty God has exempted?’ He said: ‘They are Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, and the Angel of Death. Then he will call: “O Angel of Death, take Isrāfīl’s life!” Thus Isrāfīl will fall down with his original form, like the collapse of the greatest of mountains. Then He will ask: “O Angel of Death, who is remaining?” This is while He knows better who remains. He [ʿIzrāʾīl] will reply: “Glorious and exalted art Thee, my Lord of majesty and nobility! There remain Gabriel, Michael, and the Angel of Death.” So He will command: “O Angel of Death, take Michael’s life!” He will take Michael’s life, whereby he collapses with his real form, which is many times greater than that of Isrāfīl. Then He will say: “O Angel of Death, who is remaining?” “Glorious, bounteous, and exalted art Thee, my Lord of majesty and nobility,” he will reply, “there remain Gabriel and the Angel of Death.” He will command: “Die, O Angel of Death!” whereby he dies and there will only remain Gabriel, who has a special position with the Almighty God, as you have been told. God will say: “O Gabriel, there is no alternative but that one of us shall die!” So Gabriel will fall in prostration, lowering his wings and saying: “Glory and praise be to Thee, O my Lord! Thou art standing and permanent, while Gabriel is perishing, ephemeral, and dead.” So God will seize his life, whereby he will fall on Michael and Isrāfīl, and his creation compared to theirs is like that of a huge mountain compared to a small hill.’
- Concerning the verses The day when the quaker quakes, and is followed by the successor (79:6-7), the Prophet said: ‘There are two blows in the trumpet: the first one makes the living die, and the second one revives the dead. Then there will be a third one, which makes them exit their graves: behold, they will rise up, looking on. They will exit their graves while they will be shaking off dust from their heads and saying: “Glory be to Thee! We did not tarry [in this world] except for a short period.”’
- Abū Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet that he said: ‘The trumpet will be blown thrice: a blow of terror, a blow of swoon, and a blow of resurrection to the Lord of all realms, blessed and exalted is He. God will order Isrāfīl to blow the first blow, which is the blow of terror. Thus the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth will be terrified, except whomever God wills.’ Abū Hurayrah asked: ‘O Messenger of God, who are the exempted ones?’ He replied: ‘They are the martyrs. The terror will only strike those who are living, but they [the martyrs] are living and provided for near their Lord [3:169] …’ The hadith continues in a similar way as the previous one.
Notes: 1. What is common in these hadiths is that even those who are exempted from the initial terror or death will eventually die, such that no one remains except God. This is confirmed by the Quranic principle that Every soul shall taste death (3:185, 21:35, 29:57). 2. The idea that there will be three blows is based on ṣaʿiqa in this verse being different from faziʿa (being terrified) in 27:87. 3. Different narrations have identified the last one to die as the Angel of Death, Gabriel, or the Throne. 4. The apparent discrepancy and contradiction between the number of blows, those who are exempted, and the last one to die might be because the narrations pertain to different stages of the return of creation to God. In other words, it might be due to our interpretation of something transcendent and immaterial in a physical and temporal sense, as we are accustomed to, while these physical and temporal aspects may not be applicable at higher levels of existence.
- Once, someone asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a): ‘Does the spirit disappear after it leaves the body or does it subsist?’ The Imam said: ‘No, it subsists until the trumpet is blown. That is when everything expires and dies, where there will remain neither a sense nor anything sensible. Then things will return as their designer had originated them. It will last 400 years when the creatures will be dormant, and that will be between the two blows.’
- Abū Hurayrah narrated from the Prophet: ‘The difference between the two blows will be forty.’ Then he was asked: ‘O Abū Hurayrah, is that forty days?’ He replied: ‘I do not think so.’ ‘Forty months?’ they enquired. ‘I do not think so.’ They asked: ‘Forty years?’ He answered: ‘I do not think so.’ Then he continued his narration from the Prophet: ‘Then God will send down water from the sky and you will grow like the seeds of vegetables. There will remain nothing of mankind but that it will decay, except for a single bone, which is the bottom of the spine. People will be reconstructed from that on the Day of Resurrection.’ There are other similar narrations with slight variations.
Notes: 1. According to Suddī, there will be forty years between the two blows. 2. It should be noted that this need not be a temporal sequence as we experience in this world, for it belongs to a wholly different plane of existence, where time is not the same as what we are accustomed to in this life. This could be one reason for why the Prophet did not specify the units of time. 3. Number forty is not always meant literally, but it sometimes refers to a full cycle and the completion of a stage. 4. The idea of raining for resurrection should not be limited to its literal or physical meaning. It might be based on We made every living thing out of water (21:30). It might also be a symbolic language or analogy based on a tangible event that is familiar to us. 5. Overall, these are mystical narrations and involve several layers of meaning. Their true meaning is with the people of such knowledge.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
- For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
The book of Revelation also talks about a series of trumpets in chapters 8-11.
[1] Lisan, under ṣ-w-r.
[2] Churchyard, ‘Leviticus,’ EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary, available at www.easyenglish.info.
[3] Raghib; Lisan; Bahrayn; Qamus, under n-q-r.
[4] Tibyan, 9/46; Tabrisi, 8/792.
[5] Tibyan, 4/174.
[6] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 37.
[7] Qaraati, 8/200.
[8] Fayyumi, under ṣ-ʿ-q..
[9] Tabari, 24/20; Mizan, 17/293.
[10] Furqan, 25/386.
[11] Razi, 27/477.
[12] Qaraati, 8/200-201.
[13] Alusi, 12/283; Qaraati, 8/200.
[14] Raghib, under n-ẓ-r.
[15] Qurtubi, 15/281.
[16] Bursawi, 8/138.
[17] Nahj, sermon 195.
[18] Ibn Majah, 2/1428, h. 4273; Suyuti, 5/338; Bihar, 56/262.
[19] Qurtubi, 16/279.
[20] Daylami, 1/53-56.
[21] Qummi, 3/252-253.
[22] These are the words of God in ḥadīth al-lawḥ: Kafi, 1/528; Uyun, 1/43.
[23] Tabari, 24/20; Thalabi, 8/255; Ibn Abi al-Hadid, 1/95.
[24] Tanbih, 2/225.
[25] Tabari, 24/20-21.
[26] Razi, 27/476.
[27] Ihtijaj, 2/350.
[28] Tabari, 24/21-22.
[29] Tabari, 24/21.
[30] See Baḥr al-ʿUlūm, Treatise on Spiritual Journeying and Wayfaring, p. 13ff and p. 120ff.
[31] 1 Corinthians 15:52.
[32] 1 Thessalonians 4:16.