Tafsir

وَيَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ‌ فَفَزِعَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ (And [ remember ] the day when the Horn will be blown; so all those in the heavens and the earth will be in panic - 27:87). The word فَزِعَ faza' means being nervous or perplexed. In another verse on the same subject the word فَزِعَ Fazi'a is substituted by صَعِقَ ` Sa’ iqa which means losing consciousness. If both these verses are taken to refer to the first blowing of the Sur (the Horn) then the total sum of the two words would be that, at the time of the blowing of the Sur, everyone will get nervous and perplexed initially, and then will lose consciousness, and ultimately will die. Qatadah and some other Imams of tafsir have taken this verse for the second blowing of the Sur, when all the dead will resurrect. Thus the meaning of the verse would be that all the dead would get up perplexed. Some have interpreted that Sur will be blown thrice. On the first blowing, everyone will get nervous and perplexed, which is called 'the blowing of فَزِعَ faza'.

On the second blowing everyone will die, which is 'the blowing of صَعِقَ Sa` aqa. The third blowing will be the blowing for the resurrection, on which all dead will get up. But only two blowings are mentioned in the Qur'an and Sahih ahadith. (Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir). Ibn Mubarak has quoted Hasan al-Basri (رح) that the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that there will be a forty years gap in between the two blowings. (Qurtubi)إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّـهُ (except such as Allah wills - 27:87). This exception is from Faza', which means panic and perplexity. The sense is that there will be people who will not be nervous at all at the time of resurrection. There is a hadith reported by Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ that these people would be the martyrs. At the time of second life on resurrection they will not get nervous. (This is a Sahih hadith according to Ibn al-` Arabi - Qurtubi). Sayyidna Said ibn Jubair ؓ has also said that the exception applies to the martyrs, who will assemble around the ` Arsh wearing their swords.

Quashiri has observed that prophets are the very first included among them, because they have the status of martyrs also, and their position as prophet is still higher. (Qurtubi)The following verse will appear later in Surah Az-Zumar:وَنُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ‌ فَصَعِقَ مَن فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَن فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ إِلَّا مَن شَاءَ اللَّـهُFor the Trumpet shall be blown and whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth shall swoon, save whom Allah wills - 39:68.

This verse tells us that when the Horn will be blown, all those in the heavens and the earth will get unconscious, and then die. Here also an exception is made, which according to one hadith is meant for six angels, namely Jibra'il, Mik` ail, Israfil, Malakul-Maut and Hamalatul- 'Arsh, who will not die by the blow of Sur. Later, they will also die, as explained in the hadith. Those who have held that Faza' and Sa'aqa both relate to the same blowing, they have taken the exception, here as well, for the special angels, like Surah Az-Zumar. But those who have held that Faza' and Sa'aqa relate to two different blowings, they interpret the exception in the present verse as referring to the martyrs, as explained above.