Surah Yaseen · سُوْرَةُ يٰسٓ · Juz 23
Q 36:48
وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَىٰ هَـٰذَا ٱلْوَعْدُ إِن كُنتُمْ صَـٰدِقِينَ
Translations
And they say, "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"Et ils disent: «A quand cette promesse si vous êtes véridiques?»Tafsir
The disbelievers who deny the resurrection say in denial of it and regarding it as far-fetched: When is this resurrection if you, O believers, are true in your claim that it is to occur?
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And they say: "When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful? (48)They await only but a single 'Şayḥah' which will seize them while they are disputing (49)Then they will not be able to make bequest, nor they will return to their family (50)
The Disbelievers thought that the Day of Resurrection would never come to pass
Allah tells us how the disbelievers thought that the Day of Resurrection would never come to pass, as they said:
مَتَىٰ هَٰذَا الْوَعْدُ
("When will this promise be fulfilled...")
يَسْتَعْجِلُ بِهَا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهَا ۖ
(Those who believe not therein seek to hasten it)(42:18). Allah says:
مَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَّا صَيْحَةً وَاحِدَةً تَأْخُذُهُمْ وَهُمْ يَخِصِّمُونَ
(They await only but a single 'Şayḥah' which will seize them while they are disputing!) meaning, they are only waiting for a single shout which – and Allah knows best – will be the trumpet blast of terror when the Trumpet will be blown while the people are in their marketplaces and places of work, arguing and disputing as they usually do. While in this state, Allah will command Israfil to blow into the Trumpet, so he will sound a long note and there will be no one left on the face of the earth except he will tilt his head to listen to the sound coming from heaven. Then the people who are alive will be driven to the gathering place by a fire which will surround them on all sides. Allah says:
فَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ تَوْصِيَةً
(Then they will not be able to make bequest,) meaning, with regard to their possessions, because the matter is more serious than that,
وَلَا إِلَىٰ أَهْلِهِمْ يَرْجِعُونَ
(nor they will return to their family.) Numerous Hadiths and reports have been narrated about this, which we have mentioned elsewhere. After this there will be the Trumpet blast which will cause everyone who is alive to die, besides the One Who is Ever Living, Eternal. Then after that the trumpet blast of the resurrection will be sounded.
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net