54. This graphic picture depicts the horrible plight of the wrongdoers on the Day of Reckoning. When they will realize the situation, they will be so taken aback that they will have their looks fixed straight in front of them without seeing anything.
55. That is, you have seen that the former people who violated the divine law, and who opposed the message, devised very effective and cunning schemes to avert the consequences of their iniquity, but Allah defeated them with His single counter device. You did not give up your crafty schemes against the message of truth in the vain hope that your strong measures would succeed where the schemes of your predecessors had failed.
56. Though this has been addressed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), it is really meant for his opponents. They are being warned that they should not delude themselves because of the delay in their punishment. They should note it well that Allah fulfilled the promises He made to the former Messengers and defeated their opponents. Likewise He will surely fulfill the promises He had made to Muhammad (peace be upon him).
57. It is obvious from this verse and some hints in the Quran that on the occasion of Resurrection, the Earth and the Heavens will not be totally destroyed but at the blowing of the First Trumpet, the existing physical system shall be disarranged. After this, between the blowing of the First and the Last Trumpet (Allah alone knows how long this interval will last), the present form and aspect of the earth and the heavens shall be transformed and a new physical system with new physical laws will come into existence. That will be the world of the Hereafter. When the Last Trumpet will be blown, all human beings from Adam to those born before the First Trumpet, shall be brought to life and appear before Allah. The Quran calls this Hashr which literally means “to muster and gather together”. It appears from the wording of the Quran and some clear statements in the traditions that this will take place on this Earth. The Seat of Judgment and the Scales will be established on the Earth and the decisions will be passed here. This is also clear from the Quran and the traditions that the life in the Hereafter will not merely be a spiritual life but the very physical and spiritual life which we are living now on this earth; and every individual shall receive his reward or punishment exactly in that personality in which he or she is living in the life of this world. 4
58. Some commentators and translators are of the opinion that Qatiran stands for sulphur or molten copper but actually it stands for tar and the like.