The reward and punishment of the deeds of man would be clear...

The reward and punishment of the deeds of man would be clear before the Almighty Allah and all this will not take more than a moment. The Almighty Allah says: يَوْمَ هُم بَارِزُونَ لَا يَخْفَى‏ عَلَى اللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ شَىْ‏ءٌ لِّمَنِ الْمُلْكُ الْيَوْمَ لِلَّهِ الْوَاحِدِ الْقَهَّارِ (Of) the day when they shall come forth, nothing concerning them remains hidden to Allah. To whom belongs the kingdom this day? To Allah, the One, the Subduer (of all).

(40:16) Yet another verse says: وَنُفِخَ فِى الصُّورِ فَجَمَعْنَاهُمْ جَمْعاً …and the trumpet will be blown, so We will gather them all together. (18:99) On the basis of the above mentioned verses and other traditions, it can be said that the blowing of trumpet is imminent and that it is a sign of Qiyamat. Now it should be seen what kind of a trumpet it is and how it would be blown?

The dictionary meaning of ‘trumpet’ is something blown usually to make a public announcement or to warn the public about an impending invasion. In the past, this instrument was fashioned from animal horn, but it has evolved through the ages. Blowing the trumpet means creating a loud sound from it. Does the trumpet mentioned in the verse is in the same meaning and whether blowing into it should be interpreted as killing? Or it means something else?

With a little consideration, it would become clear that trumpet neither signifies the same particular instrument nor blowing of it can be said to be putting to death, because God is not a body that He should use a physical mean to make the living dead or to make them alive again. The actions of the Almighty Allah are not like those of human beings that they should be in need of a tangible instrument.

The Almighty Allah is not in need of the blowing into a material tool in order to put to death the living or to enliven those who are dead. On the contrary, He does this through the angels appointed to capture the souls (Izrael) and angels appointed to enliven the dead.

Therefore, as Allamah Tabatabai has mentioned in the interpretation of the verse: Blowing of the trumpet is an allusion to a warning and the call for people to be present for Qiyamat.[^1] Other commentators have also interpreted this verse in the same way. A tradition of the Messenger of Allah (S) is used to support this contention.

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