36:51

وَنُفِخَ فِي ٱلصُّورِ فَإِذَا هُم مِّنَ ٱلۡأَجۡدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمۡ يَنسِلُونَ

Wanufikha fee alssoori faitha hum mina alajdathi ila rabbihim yansiloona

And the Horn will be blown; and at once from the graves to their Lord they will hasten.

Word by word
  1. وَنُفِخَAnd will be blown
  2. فِي[in]
  3. ٱلصُّورِthe trumpet
  4. فَإِذَاand behold
  5. هُمThey
  6. مِّنَfrom
  7. ٱلۡأَجۡدَاثِthe graves
  8. إِلَىٰto
  9. رَبِّهِمۡtheir Lord
  10. يَنسِلُونَ[they] will hasten
Ya-Sin · 36:51Makkah

One blast, and everyone is walking toward their Lord.

The rising from the graves


What happens
the Hornblown once more
and at once
the gravesevery person comes out
hurrying to
their Lordthe only direction left
Where the road ends
the grave is the endnothing after this
the grave is a doorit opens toward Allah

Ibn Kathir explains this is the blast of resurrection, when people come out of their graves. Yansilun means they walk quickly. The Quraysh who heard it mocked the idea of rising again, and this verse simply describes it happening.

You drive past a cemetery on the way to work and do not even look. Rows of names, dates, flowers going dry. Every one of those stones will open. And one day someone will drive past yours.

Death is a full stop and the grave is where the story ends.

The grave is a waiting room, and the road out of it leads straight to my Lord.

Try this

Next time you pass a grave or a cemetery, slow down and make a short dua for the people in it.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

And the Trumpet will be blown and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord (51)They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep." (It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth! (52)It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us (53)This Day, none will be wronged in anything, nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do (54)

The Trumpet Blast of the Resurrection

This will be the third blast of the trumpet, the trumpet blast of the resurrection when people will come forth from their graves. Allah says:

فَإِذَا هُمْ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ إِلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَنْسِلُونَ 

(and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord.) 'Yansilūn' means they will be walking quickly. This is like the Ayah:

يَوْمَ يَخْرُجُونَ مِنَ الْأَجْدَاثِ سِرَاعًا كَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَىٰ نُصُبٍ يُوفِضُونَ 

(The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as racing to a goal.)(70:43).

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") meaning, their graves, which in this world they thought they would never be raised from. When they see with their own eyes that in which they had disbelieved,

قَالُوا يَا وَيْلَنَا مَنْ بَعَثَنَا مِنْ مَرْقَدِنَا ۜ ۗ 

(They will say: "Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep.") This does not contradict the fact that they will be punished in their graves, because in comparison to what is to come afterwards, that will seem like a nap. Ubayy bin Ka'b, may Allah be pleased with him, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will sleep before the Resurrection." Qatadah said, "That will be between the two trumpet blasts, they will say, 'Who has raised us up from our place of sleep?'"

When they say that, the believers will respond. This was the view of more than one of the Salaf.

هَٰذَا مَا وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ وَصَدَقَ الْمُرْسَلُونَ

((It will be said to them): "This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!") Al-Hasan said, "The angels will reply to them in this manner. There is no contradiction because both are possible. And Allah knows best.

إِنْ كَانَتْ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً فَإِذَا هُمْ جَمِيعٌ لَدَيْنَا مُحْضَرُونَ 

(It will be but a single 'Şayḥah', so behold they will all be brought up before Us!) This is like the Ayat:

فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ - فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِ

(But it will be only a single Zajrah, when behold, they find themselves (on the surface of the earth) alive (after their death).)(79:13-14),

وَمَا أَمْرُ السَّاعَةِ إِلَّا كَلَمْحِ الْبَصَرِ أَوْ هُوَ أَقْرَبُ ۚ 

(And the matter of the Hour is not but as a twinkling of the eye, or even nearer)(16:77), and

يَوْمَ يَدْعُوكُمْ فَتَسْتَجِيبُونَ بِحَمْدِهِ وَتَظُنُّونَ إِنْ لَبِثْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا

(On the Day when He will call you, and you will answer (His call) with (words of) His praise and obedience, and you will think that you have stayed (in this world) but a little while!)(17:52) which means, 'We will issue but one command, and all of them will be gathered together.'

فَالْيَوْمَ لَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا

(This Day, none will be wronged in anything,) means, with regard to his deeds.

وَلَا تُجْزَوْنَ إِلَّا مَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(nor will you be requited anything except that which you used to do.)