Surah An-Naml (The Ants): Verse 87

Know that this is the second sign of the Hour (Day of Resurrection).

As for His saying: {And the Day the Trumpet will be blown} (wa yawma yunfakhu fi s-sūr), there are several interpretations:

1. First: It is something resembling a horn, and Isrāfīl (peace be upon him) will blow into it by the permission of Allah, the Exalted. When people hear that sound, which is so intense that their natures cannot bear it, they will be terrified, fall down unconscious, and die. This is like His saying: {So when the Horn is sounded with a single blast} (Al-Muddaththir: 8). This is the view of the majority.
2. Second: It might be a metaphor for the call to the dead. Their emergence from their graves is like the emergence of an army upon hearing the sound of a musical instrument.
3. Third: As-Sūr (الصور) is the plural of Sūrah (صورة), and the blowing into them is interpreted as the blowing of the spirit (i.e., giving life).

The first interpretation is closer to what the outward text indicates, and there is no barrier preventing it.

As for His saying: {Then terrified will be those in the heavens and those on earth} (fa-faziʿa man fi s-samāwāti wa man fi l-arḍ), know that He said (Then terrified will be) (fa-faziʿa - past tense) and did not say yafzaʿu (present/future tense) to indicate the certainty and establishment of the terror. It is something that will inevitably happen because the past tense verb indicates the existence and certainty of the action. What is meant here is their terror at the First Blast.

As for His saying: {except whom Allah wills} (illā man shā’a Allāh), what is meant is those whose hearts Allah has kept firm among the angels. They said these are Jibrīl, Mīkā’īl, Isrāfīl, and the Angel of Death. It is also said they are the Martyrs. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk mentioned the Houris, the keepers of Hellfire, and the bearers of the Throne. Jābir narrated that Moses was among them because he fainted once. This is similar to His saying: {And the Trumpet will be blown, and everyone in the heavens and on earth will swoon away, except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown a second time, and behold, they will be standing, looking on.} (Az-Zumar: 68). There is no definitive report concerning the specifics, and the Book only indicates the general statement.

As for His saying: {And all will come to Him humbled} (wa kullun atawhu dākhirīn), it has been recited as (atūhu) (singular) and (atāhu) (singular). Also (dakhirīn) and (dākhirīn). The plural form refers to the meaning (all beings), and the singular form refers to the wording. Ad-Dākhir and Ad-Dukhur mean humiliated or abject. It is also said that the coming (al-ityān) means their presence at the standing place (the place of judgment) after the Second Blast. It is also possible that it refers to their return to Allah's command and their submission to Him.

Verse 88