ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (may Allah be pleased with him): A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and asked, “What is the ṣūr (Trumpet)?” He replied, “A horn that will be blown into.” Al-Tirmidhī said: “A sound (ḥasan) hadith.”
He then said: “The third blast is the blast of resurrection and rising. Verses in the Noble Book attest to it and reports point to it, such as His words, ‘The Trumpet will be blown, and suddenly they will be rushing out of their graves toward their Lord,’ ⦗1⦘ His words, ‘Then it will be blown a second time, and behold, they will be standing, looking on,’ ⦗2⦘ His words, ‘When the trumpet is sounded, that Day will be a day of anguish for the disbelievers, not an easy one,’ ⦗3⦘ and His words, ‘Listen for the Day when the Caller will call from a place nearby—the Day they will hear the Cry in truth…’ ⦗4⦘
The exegetes said: “The Caller is Isrāfīl, peace be upon him; he will blow into the Trumpet and proclaim, ‘O withered bones, disjointed limbs, tattered flesh, and scattered hair! Your Lord commands you to gather for the Final Judgement.’ Others said that Isrāfīl will blow while Gabriel will call out, and that the ‘near place’ is the Rock of Jerusalem.”
A number of commentators stated: “There are forty years between the two blasts.” Some scholars affirmed, “The transmitted reports unanimously agree on that.”
In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim it is narrated from Abū Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), in a report traced back to the Prophet ﷺ, that he said: “Between the two blasts there will be forty.” They asked, “Abū Hurayrah, forty days?” He replied, “I decline to specify.” They said, “Forty months?” He said, “I decline.” They asked, “Forty years?” He again said, “I decline.” End of hadith.
As for Abū Hurayrah’s statement “I decline (abītu),” three explanations have been offered: first, that he refused to disclose the exact period to them; second, that he had refrained from asking the Prophet ﷺ about it; and third, that he had forgotten it. It has also been said that the matter is known only to Allah, for it belongs to the mysteries of His Lordship.