Tafsir of Ya seen 36:51

Surah Ya-Sin (36): Verse 51

وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ

And the Trumpet will be blown.

The Almighty said elsewhere: {Then it will be blown into it once more, and behold, they will stand up looking}, but here He says: {and behold, they will come forth from their graves to their Lord, hastening} (Yasin: 51). Standing up (qiyām) is different from hastening/moving swiftly (nyslān). Since both verses use the phrase {and behold, they will...} (fa-idhā hum), it implies they occur simultaneously.

Answer: This can be addressed in two ways:

1. Standing (qiyām) does not negate swift walking, as a walker is standing, nor does it negate looking.
2. The use of "behold" (fa-idhā) in both instances implies the immediacy of the events, as if everything happens at one time, similar to the saying:

   "Attacking, fleeing, approaching, retreating, all at once, like a boulder that the torrent has cast down from a rock."

How can the two blows cause two opposite effects: bringing to life and causing death?

Answer: No agent other than God has an effect. The blowing is merely a sign. The terrifying sound shakes the bodies.

• During the state of life, the parts of the living being were already assembled; the shaking caused separation (dissolution).
• In the state of death, the parts were scattered; the shaking caused them to reassemble.

Thus, the two blows result in a shaking and a movement of the physical forms: when they are assembled, they separate; when they are separated, they assemble.

What is the precise meaning of idhā (إذا) used here for suddenness?

Answer: It is the idhā used for temporal specification (li-l-ẓarfiyyah). It means: "When the Trumpet is blown, behold, they will hasten."

However, something can be a temporal specification for something whose occurrence is already known, like saying: "When the sun rises, the atmosphere illuminates." When one sees the atmosphere illuminate upon sunrise, no new knowledge is generated.

But if you say, "I went out, and behold, a lion was at the door" (fa-idhā asadun bi-l-bāb), that time was the temporal context for the lion being at the door, but this fact was not known beforehand. Upon seeing it, knowledge of its presence occurs suddenly upon sensory perception. Therefore, idhā is said to be for suddenness (li-l-mufāja'ah).

Where are the graves (ajdāth) at that time, especially since the Shout has shaken the mountains?

Answer: God will gather the parts of each individual in the very place where they were buried, and they will emerge from that location, which is their grave (jaththuh).

This passage emphasizes awe and majesty. The mention of the disbeliever precedes this, yet the term "Lord" (Rabb) denotes mercy. Would it not be more appropriate to use a term denoting awe instead of the possessive suffix referring to them (i.e., "their Lord")?

Answer: This wording is the most excellent possible. This is because when someone who has done wrong is compelled to turn to the one who has shown them kindness, that realization causes greater pain and deeper regret than if they turned to someone else.

A wrongdoer, when turning toward the benefactor, often hesitates, putting one foot forward and holding the other back. Hastening (nyslān) implies swift movement. How can this hesitation exist among them?

Answer: They hasten (yansilūn) without their choice. We have previously explained concerning the verse {and behold, they will stand looking} (As-Saffat: 19) that it intends to demonstrate the perfection of His power and the execution of His Will. When the Trumpet is blown, gathering, composition, resurrection, standing, and moving occur simultaneously.

Therefore, His saying: {and behold, they will come forth from their graves to their Lord, hastening} means that they reach this state—the state of hastening (nyslān), which normally requires preceding stages—all at one instant.

Then the Almighty said:

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَن بَعَثَنَا مِن مَّرْقَدِنَا ۖ هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

They will say, "Oh, woe to us! Who has raised us from our sleeping place?" (This is) what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers spoke the truth.