and the blasts of swooning and standing: these are mentioned in Sûrah al-Zumar in His words, “The Trumpet will be blown, and everyone in the heavens and everyone on earth will fall down senseless—except those whom Allah wills; then it will be blown again, and behold, they will be standing, watching.” ⦗1⦘
As for the exception, it includes the wide-eyed maidens of Paradise (al-ḥūr al-ʿayn), for there is no death in the Garden; it may also include others. One cannot state with certainty every individual whom Allah excluded, for Allah left the matter unqualified in His Book. It is authentically reported in the Ṣaḥīḥ that the Prophet ﷺ said, “People will swoon on the Day of Resurrection, and I shall be the first to regain consciousness. I will find Moses grasping a leg of the Throne; I do not know whether he had already come round before me, or whether he is one of those whom Allah exempted.” This swoon, some have said, is a fourth blast, while others maintain that it belongs to the blasts already mentioned in the Qur’an…’ End quote.
Al-Saffārīnī said: ‘Know that the blowing into the Trumpet will occur three times:
- The blast of terror, by which this world is undone and its order collapses. It is alluded to in His words, “They are only awaiting a single Cry, after which there will be no delay,” ⦗2⦘ meaning: no return or reprieve; and in His words, “And on the Day the Trumpet is blown, everyone in the heavens and everyone on earth will be seized with terror—except those whom Allah wills.” ⦗3⦘ Al-Zamakhsharī, in his Kashshāf, explained that those excepted here are the angels whose hearts Allah keeps firm: Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, and the Angel of Death—though other views have also been recorded. Terror overtakes the creatures because of the sheer horror of that blast…
He then said: ‘The second is the blast of swooning, at which everything perishes. Allah, Exalted is He, says, “The Trumpet will be blown, and everyone in the heavens and everyone on earth will fall down senseless—except those whom Allah wills.” ⦗4⦘ The swoon has been interpreted as death…’
He further said: ‘As for the ṣūr (Trumpet), it is a horn of light into which the spirits of all creatures are placed.’ Mujāhid said that it is like a bugle; this is reported by al-Bukhārī. Al-Tirmidhī also narrated from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn