Al-Kalbi said: Allah, exalted is He, will say to the animals, wild beasts, birds, and predators, “Become dust,” and the earth will be levelled with them. At that point, the disbeliever will wish that he too were dust, as Allah, exalted is He, says:

“And the disbeliever will say, ‘Oh, I wish I were dust!’” (al-Naba 78:40)

“And they will not conceal from Allah any statement.” Ata said: They will wish that the earth were levelled over them and that they had not concealed the matter of Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, nor his description. Others said: Rather, this is a new and independent statement, meaning that they will not conceal any statement from Allah, because what they have done is not hidden from Allah and they are unable to conceal it. Al-Kalbi and a group of others said: “And they will not conceal from Allah any statement,” because their limbs will testify against them.

Sa'id ibn Jubayr said: A man said to Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, “I find things in the Quran that seem contradictory to me.” Ibn Abbas said, “Tell me what seems contradictory to you.” The man said: “There will be no ties of kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask after one another” (al-Mu'minun 23:101), yet, “They will turn to one another, questioning each other” (al-Tur 52:25). He also says, “They will not conceal from Allah any statement,” yet He says, “By Allah, our Lord, we were not polytheists” (al-An'am 6:23)—so they did conceal it. He also says, “Has He built its heaven?” up to His saying, “And after that He spread the earth” (al-Nazi'at 79:27–30), thus mentioning the creation of the heaven before the earth. Then He says, “Do you indeed disbelieve in the One who created the earth in two days?” up to His saying, “They said, ‘We come willingly’” (Fussilat 41:9–11), thus mentioning in this verse the creation of the earth before the heaven. And He says, “Allah has ever been All-Forgiving, Most Merciful,” and, “Allah has ever been All-Mighty, All-Wise.” Was He such, and then ceased to be?”

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, replied: “There will be no ties of kinship among them” refers to the first blast of the Trumpet. Allah, exalted is He, says:

“And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead, except whom Allah wills.” (al-Zumar 39:68)

At that time there will be no ties of kinship among them, nor will they ask after one another. Then, at the final blast, “They will turn to one another, questioning each other.”

“As for His saying, ‘We were not polytheists,’ and, ‘They will not conceal from Allah any statement’: Allah forgives the sins of those who are sincere. Then the polytheists will say, ‘Come, let us say that we were not polytheists.’ Their mouths will then be sealed, while their hands will speak. At that point, they will realize that they cannot conceal anything from Allah, and then comes His saying: ‘Those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger will wish that the earth were levelled over them.’

“He created the earth in two days; then He created the heaven; then He turned to the heaven and fashioned them into seven heavens in two further days; then He spread out the earth. Its spreading consisted of bringing forth from it its water and pasture, and creating the mountains, hills, and all that lies between them in two further days. Thus, the earth and everything within it were made in four days, while the heavens were created in two days. ‘Allah has ever been All-Forgiving, Most Merciful’ means that He has always been so. Therefore, let not the Quran appear contradictory to you, for all of it is from Allah.” (1)

Al-Hasan said: These are different situations. In one situation, they will not speak, and you will hear nothing but a whisper. In another, they will speak and lie, saying, “We were not polytheists,” and, “We did not commit any evil.” And in another place, they will confess against themselves, as in His saying: