who said:

“Gabriel came down and led me in prayer; I prayed with him, then prayed with him, then prayed with him, then prayed with him”—he counted on his fingers the five prescribed prayers.

Among the descriptions of Isrāfīl, upon him be peace—one of the bearers of the Throne—is that he will, by his Lord’s command, blow the Trumpet three times: the first blast will cast all into terror, the second will lay every creature low, and the third will bring about the resurrection. The details of this will be treated in its proper place in this book, by Allah’s permission, power, and gracious facilitation.

The Trumpet is a horn into which he will blow. Each ring of it is as vast as the distance between heaven and earth, and within it lie the souls of all servants until Allah commands the blast of revival. When he blows, the souls surge forth like flames, and the Lord—glorified and exalted—will say: “By My might and majesty, every soul shall surely return to the body it once inhabited in the world.” The souls will enter their bodies in the graves, spreading through them as poison spreads in one who has been bitten. The bodies will come to life, the graves will split open, and the people will emerge swiftly toward the arena of gathering, as will be set out in detail later (1).

For this reason the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

“How can I feel at ease when the keeper of the Horn has already raised it to his mouth, has bent his forehead, and is merely awaiting permission to blow?”

They asked, “What should we say, O Messenger of Allah?” He replied:

“Say: ‘Allah is sufficient for us, and He is the best Guardian; in Allah we place our trust.’” Reported by Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī on the authority of ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī (2).

Imām Aḥmad likewise said (3): Abū Muʿāwiyah related to us—al-Aʿmash—from Saʿd al-Ṭāʾī—from ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī—from Abū Saʿīd—who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke of the keeper of the Trumpet and said, “On his right is Gabriel and on his left is Michael,” peace be upon them both.

The ḥāfiẓ Abū al-Qāsim al-Ṭabarānī (4) said: Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Ḥaḍramī narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn Abī Laylā narrated to us; my father narrated to me, from Ibn Abī Laylā, from al-Ḥakam, from Maqsam, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said:

While the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was in a certain place accompanied by Gabriel, the horizon of the sky suddenly split open and Isrāfīl drew near to the earth, swaying as he descended. Then an angel stood before the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and said, “O Muḥammad! Allah commands you to choose between being a servant-prophet or a king-prophet.”

Gabriel indicated to me with his hand that I should humble myself, and I realized he was giving me sincere counsel. So I said, “I choose to be a servant-prophet.” Thereupon the angel ascended to the heavens.

I said, “O Gabriel, I had intended to ask you about this, but when I saw your state it distracted me from…"