Tafsir of Ta-Ha 20:102-104

"The Day the Trumpet is blown..."

The act of blowing is attributed to the One who commands it for those who read it as nanfukhu (We blow) with a nun. Alternatively, it is because the angels brought near—Isrāfīl being among them—hold such a status before the Lord of Might that, due to their honor and proximity to Him, it is valid to attribute what they perform to His own Self, Exalted is He.

It is also read as yunfakhu (is blown) in the passive voice. Yunfakhu (is blown) and yuhsharu (are gathered) are read with an open ya (denoting the third person), with the pronoun referring to Allah, Mighty and Majestic is He, or to Isrāfīl, peace be upon him. As for yuhsharu al-mujrimūn (the criminals are gathered), only al-Hasan read it this way.

Al-suwar (the images) is read with a fatha on the waw, as the plural of sūrah (image). Regarding al-sūr (the Trumpet), there are two opinions:

1. It means "images," and this reading supports that.
2. It means the Horn (al-qarn).

Regarding al-zurq (blue-eyed):

1. Blue was the most hateful of eye colors to the Arabs because the Byzantines (al-Rūm) were their enemies, and they were blue-eyed. Thus, they described an enemy as: "black-livered, reddish-mustached, blue-eyed."
2. It means blindness, because the pupil of one whose sight has faded turns blue.

Yatakhāfatūna (they whisper): This is due to the terror and dread filling their chests.

Yastaqsirūna muddata labthihim (they consider the duration of their stay in the world short):

• Either because of the hardships they witness, which remind them of days of ease and joy, causing them to regret them and describe them as short, for days of joy are short.
• Or because they have passed and ended; whatever has passed is short in its conclusion, even if its duration was long. From this is the signature of ‘Abd Allāh ibn al-Mu‘tazz under the phrase "May Allah prolong your life": "The end is sufficient as a brevity."
• Or because they perceive the Hereafter as so long—an eternal, everlasting state—that the life of the world seems short in comparison, and its duration seems insignificant when measured against their stay in the Hereafter.

Allah has favored the opinion of those who estimate it even more briefly, in His saying: "When the most exemplary of them in way says, 'You have not remained but a day.'" Similar to this is His saying: "He will say, 'How long did you remain on earth in number of years?' They will say, 'We remained a day or part of a day; so ask those who keep count.'" (Al-Mu’minūn: 112–113).

It is said: The intent is their stay in the graves. This is supported by His saying, Mighty and Majestic is He: "And on the Day the Hour appears, the criminals will swear they had not remained but an hour. Thus they were deluded." (Al-Rūm: 55), and: "But those who were given knowledge and faith will say, 'You remained by the decree of Allah until the Day of Resurrection.'" (Al-Rūm: 56).

"And they ask you about the mountains, so say, 'My Lord will blow them away with a blast. And He will leave them a level plain. You will not see therein any crookedness or ruggedness.'"