Yawma tubaddalu al-ardu ghayra al-ardi wassamawatu wabarazoo lillahi alwahidi alqahhar (surah Ibrahim: 48)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(14:48) Warn them of the Day when the Earth and the Heavens shall be totally transformed, *57 and all of them shall stand exposed before Allah, the One, the Almighty.

Yawma tubaddalul ardu ghairal ardi wassamaawaatu wa barazoo lillaahil Waahidil Qahhaar

*57) It is obvious from this verse and some hints in the Qur'an 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 Qur'an calls this (Hashr) which literally means "to muster and gather together". It appears from the wording of the Qur'an 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 Qur'an 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.