(68–70) “The Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and on earth will be struck senseless, except those Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and behold, they will be standing, looking on. The earth will shine with the light of its Lord, the Record will be set forth, the prophets and witnesses will be brought forward, and judgment will be passed between them in truth, and they will not be wronged. Every soul will be repaid in full for what it did, and He knows best what they do.”
Having warned them by His greatness, Allah Most High then warned them of the events of the Day of Resurrection, giving them both hope and fear. He said: “The Trumpet will be blown.” It is an immense horn whose magnitude is known only to its Creator and to those of His creatures whom Allah has granted knowledge of it. Isrāfīl (peace be upon him)—one of the angels brought near and one of the bearers of the Throne of the Most Merciful—will blow into it.
“They will be struck senseless”—that is, they will either lose consciousness or die, according to the two differing views—“all who are in the heavens and on earth.” This means all of them. When they hear the blast of the Trumpet, its intensity and enormity will fill them with terror, as will their knowledge of what it heralds. “Except those Allah wills”: those whom Allah keeps firm when the blast sounds, so that they are not struck senseless, such as the martyrs—or some of them—as well as others. This is the first blast: the blast that strikes them senseless and the blast of terror.
“Then it will be blown again”—the second blast, the blast of resurrection—“and behold, they will be standing, looking on.” That is, they will have risen from their graves for their resurrection and reckoning, their bodies and souls fully restored and their eyes staring fixedly, “looking on” to see what Allah will do with them.
“The earth will shine with the light of its Lord.” This shows that all existing lights will disappear and fade away on the Day of Resurrection. And so it will be: Allah has informed us that the sun will be folded up, ⦗730⦘ the moon eclipsed, and the stars extinguished, leaving people in darkness. The earth will then shine with the light of its Lord when He manifests Himself and descends to pass judgment between them. On that day, Allah will grant creation strength and recreate them in a form capable of bearing His light without being burned by it; they will also be able to see Him. Otherwise, His light, Most High, is immense: were He to unveil it, the radiant splendor of His countenance would burn everything in His creation reached by His sight.
“The Record will be set forth.” That is, the record and register of deeds will be laid down and opened so that the good and evil deeds within it may be read. Allah Most High says:
“The record will be set forth, and you will see the sinners fearful of what is in it. They will say, ‘Woe to us! What kind of record is this, leaving no deed, small or great, uncounted?’ They will find all they did present before them, and your Lord will wrong no one.”
As part of perfect justice and fairness, the doer will be told: “Read your record. Today there will be none but yourself to call you to account.”
“The prophets will be brought forward” to be questioned about conveying the message and about their nations, and to bear witness regarding them. “And the witnesses”—from among the angels, bodily limbs, and the earth. “And judgment will be passed between them in truth,” meaning with perfect justice and absolute equity. For this is a reckoning issued by One who does not wrong anyone even an atom’s weight and who fully encompasses everything. His Book—the Preserved Tablet—encompasses all their deeds; the noble recording angels, who do not disobey their Lord, have written down everything they did; and the most just witnesses have testified concerning that judgment. Judgment is therefore rendered by the One who knows the true measure of all deeds and precisely what reward or punishment they merit.
A judgment will thus be delivered that all creation will affirm. They will acknowledge that all praise and justice belong to Allah, and through it they will recognize such greatness, knowledge, wisdom, and mercy of His as had never occurred to their hearts and as their tongues cannot express. Hence He said: “Every soul will be repaid in full for what it did, and He knows best what they do.”