32. A DESCRIPTION OF DHUL-QARNAIN’S QUEST FOR THE SPRING OF LIFE
Allah, Most High, says, {We (Allah) said (by inspiration), “O, Dhul-Qarnain! Either you punish them, or treat them with kindness.” He said, “As for him (a disbeliever in the Oneness of Allah) who does wrong, we shall punish him; and then he will be brought back unto his Lord, Who will punish him with a terrible torment (Hell).”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:86-87). That is, the punishments of this world and the Hereafter will be combined on him. He began with the punishment of this world, because it is a greater deterrent to the disbelievers. {“But as for him who believes (in Allah’s Oneness) and works righteousness, he shall have the best reward, (Paradise), and we (Dhul Qarnain) shall speak unto him mild words (as instructions).”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:88). And He began with the most important thing and that is the reward of the Hereafter and He bestowed His Favor on him, and that was justice, knowledge and faith. Allah, Most High, says, {So he followed a way} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:85). That is, he followed a path, returning from the West to the East; and it was said that his return spanned twelve years. {Until, when he came to the rising place of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We (Allah) had provided no shelter against the sun} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:90) That is, they had no houses or shelters to protect them from the heat of the sun. Many of the scholars said, “But when the heat of the sun was intense, they sought refuge in burrows in the ground which they had made, and which resembled graves. Allah, Most High, says, {So (it was)! And We knew all about him (Dhul-Qarnain)} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:91). That is, We know what he was following and We protected him and preserved him during his travels. All of this was from the West of the land to the east of it.
And He, Most High, says, {Then he followed (another) way, until, when he reached between two mountains, he found, before (near) them (those two mountains), a people who scarcely understood a word.} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:92) That is, they did not understand his language because of their isolation from other peoples. It was said that they were the Turks, the sons of Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj’s paternal uncle (i.e. their cousins). They informed him that these two tribes had committed acts of aggression against them, spread corruption throughout their land and practiced highway robbery and they paid him a tribute in return for which they asked him to make a barrier which would prevent these two tribes from reaching them. He refused to accept the tribute, being content with the great wealth that Allah had given him. {He said, “That (wealth, authority and power) in which my Lord had established me is better (than your tribute).”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:95). Then he requested that they gather for him men and materials, in order that he might build a barrier between them and their enemies. That barrier took the form of a dam between two mountains which was the only route by which Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj could attack them. The rest of it was taken up by vast seas and towering mountains. So he built it, as Allah says, from iron and molten copper. It was said that the Arabic word ‘qitr’ used in the Verse means lead, but the first interpretation is the correct one. Instead of bricks, he used iron and instead of mud, he used copper. This is why Allah, Most High, says, {So they (Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj) were made powerless to scale it} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:97). That is, they could not climb it with ladders or anything else. {…or dig through it} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:97). That is, with pickaxes or other digging implements. So He has compared the easiest thing with the easiest thing and the most difficult with the most difficult. {He (Dhul-Qarnain) said, “This is a Mercy from my Lord.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:98). That is, Allah has ordained the barrier’s existence in order for it to be a Mercy for His slaves, that it might prevent their enemies from reaching them via that route. {“…but when the Promise of my Lord comes…”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:98). That is, the time when He has ordained that they shall sally forth against the people at the end of time. {He will level it down to the ground} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:98). That is, He will flatten it; and there is no escaping this event, which is why He says, {“And the Promise of my Lord is ever true.”} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:98). This is like His Saying: {Until, when Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj are let loose (from their barrier) and they swiftly swarm from every mound. And the true promise (Day of Resurrection) shall draw near (of fulfillment). Then, (when the mankind is resurrected from their graves), you shall see the eyes of the disbelievers fixedly staring in horror. (They will say), “Woe to us! We were indeed heedless of this; nay, but we were zalimoon.”} (Soorah Al-Anbiya’21:96-97). This is why He says here (in Soorah Al-Kahf ), {And on that day (i.e. the day when Ya’jooj and Ma’jooj will come out), We shall leave them to surge like waves on one another} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:99). That is, the day when the barrier will be breached, according to the authentic hadeeth. {…and the Trumpet will be blown, and We shall collect them all together} (Soorah Al-Kahf 18:99)
By Ibn Katheer
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