“Indeed, the Day of Decision is an appointed time—the Day the Horn will be blown and you will come forth in throngs. The sky will be opened and become gateways, and the mountains will be set in motion and become a mirage. Indeed, Hell lies in ambush, a destination for the transgressors, where they will remain for ages. There they will taste neither coolness nor drink, except scalding water and foul pus—a fitting recompense. Indeed, they did not expect any reckoning and utterly denied Our signs. Yet We have recorded everything in a Book. So taste! We shall only increase you in torment.”
Allah Most High says: “Indeed, the Day of Decision is an appointed time.” This is the Day of Resurrection. It is called the Day of Decision because on that day Allah will judge between His servants concerning their disputes and differences. He will distinguish the people of truth from the people of falsehood, the people of disbelief from the people of faith, and the people of aggression from those of moderation. He will also separate the people of Paradise from the people of the Fire: one group will be in Paradise and another in the Blaze.
“An appointed time” means an appointed time for recompense, fixed for a numbered term, as Allah Most High says: “We delay it only until a numbered term” [Hūd: 104]. Consider anything that has a numbered term: you see how quickly that term passes, day after day, until a person reaches the final stage. Likewise, the whole world proceeds day after day until it reaches its final stage. Hence Allah Most High says: “We delay it only until a numbered term.” Everything numbered must eventually come to an end.
“The Day the Horn will be blown and you will come forth in throngs.” The angel entrusted with blowing it is Isrāfīl. He will blow it twice. At the first blast, the people will be terrified, then struck down and die. At the second, they will be resurrected from their graves and their souls will be returned to them. Hence He says here: “The Day the Horn will be blown and you will come forth in throngs.” The verse employs concision through omission; that is: you will be brought to life and then come forth in throngs—one throng alongside another, or one following another. These throngs—