rather he says, “Perhaps I may do righteousness with that which I have left behind,” that is, with the wealth I had begrudged, so that I might now spend it in the cause of Allah.

Allah, exalted is He, replies: “No indeed!”—meaning that there will be no return, for when the appointed term arrives “they can neither delay it by a single hour nor bring it forward” (10:49).

He then says: “It is only a word he utters.” Allah affirms that this is precisely the plea he will voice: “My Lord, send me back, that I may do righteousness in that which I left behind.” “And ahead of them lies a barzakh until the day they are resurrected”—that is, before those upon whom death has descended there stands a barrier until the day they are raised.

The barzakh is the interval separating this world from the coming of the Hour. Whether a person is buried beneath the earth, left upon its surface to be consumed by beasts and scattered by the winds, or resting at the bottom of the seas, all of that realm is called barzakh. “A barrier until the day they are resurrected” means that they will emerge from their graves to stand before Allah on the Day of Resurrection.

“When the trumpet is blown”—this will occur at the onset of the Hour—“there will be no kinship between them on that Day, nor will they ask of one another.” The trumpet will be blown twice:

1. The first blast will bring terror and annihilation—death itself. Israfil will blow into the trumpet, producing a sound of overwhelming magnitude; the people will be seized with fear and then all will die, save those whom Allah wills.

2. At the second blast the trumpet will be blown again, souls will pass forth from it and return to their bodies, and everlasting life will begin—life in which there is no death.

“Thus on that Day neither lineage will avail them nor will they question one another”—that is, once they have been raised from